Rubio Sworn In as 72nd Secretary of State After Historic 99-0 Senate Confirmation, First Cabinet Member Confirmed
On January 21, 2025, Marco Rubio was sworn in as the 72nd Secretary of State of the United States at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, D.C., with Vice President JD Vance administering the oath. A day earlier, the Senate had confirmed his nomination by a unanimous vote of 99 to 0, making Rubio the first cabinet member confirmed in President Donald Trump's second administration.
Rubio was born in Miami, Florida, in 1971 and served as a U.S. Senator from Florida from 2011 until 2025, including long service on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the Intelligence Committee. Trump nominated him for Secretary of State in November 2024. At the ceremony, Vance said Rubio would be the chief diplomat of the United States; it was also the first time Vance, as Vice President, had sworn in a federal official.
In his remarks, Rubio said President Trump's primary promise on foreign policy is that the priority of the Department of State will be the United States — furthering the national interests of this country. The mandate, he said, is clear: "Everything we do must be justified by the answer to one of three questions: Does it make us stronger, does it make us safer, and does it make us more prosperous? If it doesn't do one of those three things, we will not do it." He added that one of the primary goals of American foreign policy is the promotion of peace — peace through strength, and always without abandoning American values.
Rubio went straight to work at the State Department the same day, meeting the foreign ministers of Japan, Australia, and India and taking part in a joint statement by the Quad foreign ministers. According to the Department, the Secretary's main priority is to have a Department of State that puts America First.
Source: United States Department of State
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：国务卿 Marco Rubio 的官方肖像（2025年1月）。（美国国务院，公共领域，经 Wikimedia Commons） / Photo: Official portrait of Secretary of State Marco Rubio, January 2025. (U.S. Department of State, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
