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Donald Trump is closing in on top picks for his foreign policy team, planning to tap Florida congressman Mike Waltz as his national security adviser and to nominate Florida senator Marco Rubio to be secretary of state, according to people familiar with the matter.
Rubio, an Iran and China hawk who ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016, would become one of the most prominent members of Trump’s foreign policy team if confirmed by the Senate next year. A Cuban-American who serves on the Senate foreign relations committee, Rubio would be the first Latino to serve as Washington’s top diplomat.
Waltz, 50, a decorated military veteran, Nato critic and fellow China sceptic, would also become one of the most powerful people in the White House. He is a retired Army Special Forces officer who served several tours in Afghanistan, the Middle East and Africa. If he takes up the post, he will be a central figure in shaping US foreign policy, including on conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.
Matt Turpin, a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution and a China director on the National Security Council in the last Trump administration, noted Rubio’s record of opposition to Beijing.
“That experience and focus on China is reinforced with the selection of Mike Waltz as national security adviser,” said Turpin. “It suggests that president-elect Trump will press the Chinese Communist party very hard, just as he did during his first term.”
Unlike other top administration positions, the national security adviser does not need Senate confirmation, meaning Waltz would be able to start as soon as Trump is sworn in for another four-year term in January.
In his first administration, Trump cycled through four national security advisers in as many years. His first pick, Michael Flynn, lasted less than one month in the job after the former military intelligence officer admitted he lied to the FBI about contacts with a Russian diplomat. Flynn was followed by HR McMaster, John Bolton and Robert O’Brien.
Earlier on Monday, the president-elect confirmed he had asked New York congresswoman Elise Stefanik to serve as the next US ambassador to the UN.
A spokesperson for the Trump campaign and the offices of Waltz and Rubio did not respond to requests for comment.
The Wall Street Journal first reported Trump had asked Waltz to be his national security adviser on Monday. The New York Times first reported Trump was expected to nominate Rubio.
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