Tough on China, hawks on Iran or Venezuela, and unconditional towards Israel. Those are the characteristics, or rather the requirements, to be part of Donald Trump's new security and international policy team. According to reports from major U.S. media outlets, Florida Senator Marco Rubio is set to be the next U.S. Secretary of State. Trump, known for changing his mind at the most unexpected moment, would thus choose to lead diplomacy with a classic conservative, in favor of a tough stance against the systemic rival of the 21st century, the ayatollahs' regime and its nuclear program, as well as Venezuela, Cuba, and an urgent negotiated solution on Ukraine.
Rubio, 53, challenged Trump in the 2016 Republican primaries, leading to harsh personal attacks that stung. But in the last eight years, the relationship has been restored, to the point that the Hispanic senator was in the final three candidates for vice president last July.
Rubio, who would be the first Hispanic or Latino to hold the position, entered the Senate 10 years ago and is a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, where he is considered more of a hawk, something he has had to refine to harmonize his tone with Trump, JD Vance, and the Maga movement (Make America Great Again) in general, characterized by advocating isolationism, reducing or dispensing with U.S. presence abroad and wars in general.
Although Latin America is by no means a priority, for obvious reasons, Rubio will represent the toughest stance towards Cuba, but also towards Venezuela, which became an obsession for Trump during the campaign. Not because of the Maduro government, but because of armed groups that allegedly came to the U.S. to sow panic.
Despite always aligning with the classic Republican approach, which sees Russia as one of the main national security risks, all analysts believe he would have no problem leading Trump's efforts to quickly end the war in Ukraine, even if it means forcing Kiev to accept territorial losses rather than facing a complete cut-off of supplies and funds.
A similar situation arises with China. The senator is part of the hardline faction that has promoted stricter trade policies, but entrepreneurs like Elon Musk, with significant interests in the giant Asian country, will have a say in future decisions. He co-chaired the bipartisan and bicameral Congressional-Executive Commission on China, which pushes for a more aggressive stance in economic relations, especially regarding human rights issues.
In 2020, for example, Rubio sponsored a bill that aimed to prevent the import of Chinese products made with forced labor by the Uyghur ethnic minority in China. Biden signed it into law the following year. Mike Pompeo, who served as Secretary of State in Trump's first term, has been ruled out by the president-elect for any position in the administration, with many considering that one of the reasons is the enormous hostility he is viewed with by Xi Jinping.
Following Russia and China is the Middle East, where there should be no friction. Rubio is one of the most enthusiastic allies of Benjamin Netanyahu, completely uncritical of the wars in Gaza or Lebanon. And he will have Micke Huckabee as his right-hand man in Jerusalem, who will be the new ambassador. A former governor of Arkansas, evangelical religious leader, and 2016 Republican primary candidate who Trump won, Huckabee has had a television program since 2015. He is the father of Sarah Huckabee Sanders, currently the governor of the same state and former White House press secretary under Trump. "He loves Israel and its people, and the Israelis love him. He will work tirelessly to achieve peace in the Middle East," said the president-elect in a statement on Tuesday.
Huckabee has long been a staunch supporter of Israel and identifies with the right-wing positions of Israeli politics, arguing, for example, that the claim to the West Bank is stronger than U.S. ties to Manhattan. In 2018, for instance, he participated by laying bricks himself when the construction of a new housing complex began in the settlement of Efrat. "I do not love the Land of Israel because I am Jewish, I love it because I know it was God's choice to select it for His People. Those boundaries are nearly 4,000 years old and none of us have the right to change them. We only have the right to expand them."" he said during a visit in 2022.
A military figure for the National Guard
Trump has also chosen Congressman Michael Waltz for the position of National Security Adviser, solidifying the core of the State he resides in. Waltz, the second congressman to be promoted after the next ambassador to the UN, is from Florida, like Rubio or Susie Wiles, his chief of staff.
The congressman, who served in the military as a Green Beret and was an advisor to Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld 20 years ago, has been part of the House of Representatives' Armed Services, Intelligence, and Foreign Affairs committees and has become a regular analyst for citizens due to his appearances on conservative television networks. His wife, Julia Nesheiwat, was a national security adviser in the first Trump administration.
Despite recently writing that Americans cannot continue funding Ukraine indefinitely, and that a negotiated exit, as Trump presumes, is more than reasonable, Waltz has also stated that sanctions against Russia should be strengthened, calling it "a gas station with nuclear weapons," and that if Putin does not cooperate, the U.S. should give Zelensky the green light to use long-range weapons provided by Washington to attack Russian territory, not just defend themselves.
Like Rubio, he is considered a hawk regarding China and Iran, and strongly criticized both the troop withdrawals from Afghanistan during Trump's four years and the total withdrawal from the country ordered by Biden. He will be responsible for a position historically held by heavyweights such as Richard Kissinger, Brent Scowcroft, Zbigniew Brzezinski, Colin Powell, or Condoleezza Rice. An authoritative voice within the White House, not embedded in the Pentagon machinery, coordinating the messages from the numerous agencies providing intelligence to the president.
However, with Trump, there was a lot of volatility. In his first term, Trump had four national security advisors, the first of whom lasted only 22 days. The others, including Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster and the renowned John Bolton, were unceremoniously ousted and have become fierce critics. The last one, Robert O'Brien, remained in office during the Covid-19 pandemic and the Capitol assault, and is rumored to be considered for another position in the cabinet.
The president-elect has also chosen South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem to lead the Department of Homeland Security, according to The Wall Street Journal. A loyal ally and rising figure in the Republican Party, she was even mentioned as a potential vice-presidential candidate.
The agency has many responsibilities in terms of natural disasters, cybersecurity, or transportation, but its central role will be enforcing immigration laws. Noem will join Tom Homan, the new 'immigration czar,' and above all Stephen Miller, who will be her deputy chief of staff, a seemingly secondary position but with enormous power in implementing Trump's main campaign promise: border closure and the largest deportation in U.S. history.