Marco Rubio, the new U.S. Secretary of State, attributes his success to his parents' decision to immigrate from Cuba in 1956. His father worked as a banquet bartender, and his mother was a hotel maid and stay-at-home mom.
The U.S. Senate confirmed Rubio with a unanimous vote of 99-0 shortly after President Trump took office on January 20. Rubio, originally from Miami, is now the highest-ranking Hispanic American official in U.S. history.
During his confirmation hearing on January 15 before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Rubio emphasized his commitment to prioritizing America's core national interests as Secretary of State. He stated: “Under President Trump, the top priority of the United States Department of State will be the United States,” and added that every action must answer if it makes America safer, stronger, or more prosperous.
Rubio was serving his third term as a senator for Florida when he was nominated by Trump. As a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and vice chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, he has been influential in shaping U.S. foreign policy.
He has authored significant bipartisan legislation concerning China and has advocated for holding the Chinese government accountable for human rights abuses against Uyghurs and in Hong Kong. Rubio also played a key role in U.S.-Latin America relations by sponsoring sanctions against human rights abusers in Venezuela and members of the Cuban regime.
Rubio led efforts to reauthorize the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom through bipartisan legislation for several years.
Before his tenure as a U.S. senator, Rubio served as a city commissioner in West Miami and as speaker of Florida’s House of Representatives. He holds degrees from the University of Florida and the University of Miami School of Law. Rubio lives with his wife Jeanette and their four children.