Among all of president-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet nominations, Marco Rubio is one of the most traditional, bringing international name recognition and years of foreign policy expertise.
The senior senator from Florida will on Wednesday attend his confirmation hearing in front of the Senate foreign relations committee, on which he once sat. He also served as vice chairman of the select committee on intelligence and is well known in the US, having run unsuccessfully against Mr Trump for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016.
“Of all of Trump's appointments, he appears to be the most conventional in terms of colouring between the lines,” said Aaron David Miller, a former longtime Middle East analyst at the State Department. “He knows foreign policy, he’s smart, he's articulate, he understands, I think, the way diplomacy works.”
Mr Rubio, who is likely to gather broad bipartisan support, is well known for his hawkish views and believes America must take a hard line against its foes, including Iran and China. When it comes to the Middle East, he is decidedly pro-Israel, like most of the American political establishment.
After Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel, which sparked the more than year-long conflict that has consumed the region, Mr Rubio came out strongly in support of Israel.
“I want them to destroy every element of Hamas they can get their hands on,” Mr Rubio once told a protester. “These people are vicious animals who did horrifying crimes.”
He has backed military and economic aid to Israel, and endorsed the controversial move of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in 2018. He has repeatedly attacked the Biden administration over its handling of the conflict in Gaza and accused it of limiting its support for Israel.
In August, he wrote to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and chided him over the Biden administration's sanctions against settler activity in the West Bank. But he referred to the occupied Palestinian territory as “Judea and Samaria", its biblical name, which is used by Israelis.
“Although this is not the first time the Biden-Harris administration has taken steps to undercut our ally, Israel, your recent decision risks exacerbating an already delicate situation in the region,” Mr Rubio wrote.
He is likely to face questions about Israel, the Middle East, US support for Ukraine and other continuing conflicts around the world. He may also be asked about recent statements by Mr Trump, who said he wants to take over the Panama Canal and Greenland. The president-elect hinted last week that he might even consider using military force to achieve his objectives.
But just how much power and authority Mr Rubio will have to execute his vision of the State Department and America’s role in the world remains a big question. Mr Trump has already installed special envoys charged with handling high-stakes files, including the Middle East, which may limit Mr Rubio’s ability to influence.
“I think Rubio has got a very tough lift,” Mr Miller told The National. “But there's a lot we don't know.” He said the key will be just “how much authority will he have and to what degree” he has Mr Trump’s support.
Mr Rubio and Mr Trump are former rivals who traded barbs and insults during the 2016 Republican primaries. Mr Rubio called his opponent a “con artist” and poked fun at the size of Mr Trump's hands, while Mr Trump called the shorter Mr Rubio “little Marco” and “overly ambitious".
During his first term, Mr Trump had a public falling-out with his first secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, reportedly calling him a “moron” and then firing him after little more than one year. Mr Trump also went through four national security advisers and seven defence secretaries, including those serving in an acting capacity.
Mr Rubio, who is expected to be confirmed by the Senate with little opposition from Democrats, will have to stay in Mr Trump’s good books in order to keep his job.
“Marco is a highly respected leader and a very powerful voice for freedom," Mr Trump said in November after nominating him. "He will be a strong advocate for our nation, a true friend to our allies, and a fearless warrior who will never back down to our adversaries."
He will walk into a State Department still reeling in many ways from the last Trump administration, when the president-elect tried to cut staff, and one deeply divided over America’s support of Israel’s war in Gaza.
“I think it's a deeply aggrieved, hollowed-out institution which hasn't yet recovered from Trump 1.0,” Mr Miller said.
