By Abiola Olawale
The President-elect of the United States, Donald Trump, has nominated Sen. Marco Rubio as his choice for secretary of state. This development has raised the question: who is this nominee?
Trump made this known in a statement via his official X handle on Wednesday.
The statement reads in part: “It is my Great Honor to announce that Senator Marco Rubio, of Florida, is hereby nominated to be The United States Secretary of State.”
Below are things to know about Marco Rubio, US Secretary of State Designate;
1). Marco Rubio, age 53, serves as a United States Senator representing Florida.
2).He was born in Miami to Cuban immigrant parents; his father worked as a bartender, while his mother was employed as a hotel maid.
3).Throughout his initial Senate campaign, he consistently highlighted his working-class background and “only in America” narrative, stating his journey as the son of immigrants who attained a position in the U.S. Senate.
4). Rubio, a passionate football fan with dreams of the NFL, received offers from two colleges and chose Tarkio College, a small school in rural Missouri. After sustaining an injury and facing the college’s bankruptcy, he transferred to a Florida school and graduated from the University of Florida and the University of Miami Law School.
5).He married Jeanette Dousdebes, a Miami Dolphins cheerleader, in 1998, and they have four children.
6.) Marco Rubio served in the Florida House, including a stint as speaker. In 2010, he ran as a longshot candidate for the GOP Senate nomination against then-Gov. Charlie Crist.
7). Rubio entered the 2016 presidential race, facing a crowded GOP field that included Trump. Rubio won Minnesota, where Texas Sen. Ted Cruz finished second and Trump third. His only other wins were in Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico.
8). He left the race after Trump routed him in his home state. Trump took Florida with 45.7% of the vote, while Rubio was a distant second with 27%.
9).Trump’s relationship with Rubio is believed to have improved during his first stint as the president of the US.
10).As vice chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and a member of the Committee on Foreign Relations, Rubio now often discusses foreign military and economic threats, particularly China. He warns that China, Iran, North Korea and Russia are increasingly partnering against the United States.
