About the election of a senator Marc Rubio as US Secretary of State The New York Times and other media reported on Monday. Rubio has been known in the past for harsh views towards Russia but currently advocating for ending the war in Ukraine.
Reuters and Politico report similarly about Trump's plans, although the president-elect may still change his mind.
Rubio, deputy chairman of the Senate intelligence committee, was Donald Trump's main rival and sharp critic in the race for the Republican presidential nomination in the 2016 election. Later, however, he became much closer to Trump, advising him, among other things, before the debate with Joe Biden in 2020, and this year he was among the vice presidential candidates being considered.
USA. Mark Rubio on the war in Ukraine
Originally a politician with Cuban roots, he was one of the greatest “hawkish” in matters of foreign policybut over time his views evolved towards those expressed by Trump. Despite initial support for Ukraine, during the protracted dispute over the package of measures for Kiev, Rubio was one of the opponents of the bill, demanding strict immigration reforms.
When asked by PAP then, Father criticism of this attitude from Prime Minister Donald Tusk he replied that America itself is a victim of “invasion” and he must deal with this first.
– My message to Poland is: if it became a victim of an invasion of eight million illegal immigrants, we would understand that it would prefer to deal with this before dealing with Ukraine. (…) I support helping Ukrainebut we have to help America first. America will be of no use to Poland and other allies if we as a country have to devote more and more resources to eight million people who are here illegally – said the politician.
In an interview with NBC just after Trump's election victory, Rubio said that despite the brave resistance of Ukrainians, America shouldn't finance a “stalemated war” and the conflict should be brought to an end.
– You don't have to be a fan of Vladimir Putin to want the war to end, the senator said.
He previously announced that Trump would want to ensure that Ukraine was in a good negotiating position.
Congressman from Florida Mike Waltz was chosen by US President-elect Donald Trump to be his national security advisor – the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. Information about Waltz's election, citing insider sources, was reported by, among others: “Wall Street Journal”, CNN and Reuters.
Waltz is 50 years old retired colonel of the “green berets”US Army special forces, who has been a member of the House of Representatives since 2018 as a deputy from Florida. During the election campaign, he was one of Trump's main defenders and advocates on matters relating to security in television programs. The politician will take on one of the most important roles in the White House, as the main – next to the Secretary of State – official responsible for foreign policy.
Waltz was seen as a “hawk” in policy towards Russia, China and Iran, although over the last year he voted against a package of funds to aid Ukraine (even though he supported previous packages). In a recent interview on NPR Radio, the politician claimed that Trump's expressed desire to quickly ending the war in Ukraine is rational and argued that Trump would force Putin to negotiate by introducing sanctions on Russian oil and lifting restrictions on Ukraine's use of long-range weapons.
– Russia is basically a gas station with nuclear weapons. Putin now sells more oil and gas than before the war through China and Russia. And if we add the release of our energy and the lifting of the LNG ban, his economy and his war machine will dry up very quickly – said the politician just before the elections. He also announced imposing sanctions on Chinese companies buying Russian oil.
The congressman also praised Trump's approach to NATO and his demands that European countries increase their defense spending.
– The United States must make clear that it is time for our allies they invested in their own security. (…) Military alliances are based on trust and reciprocity. Highlighting the lack of investment from our allies is not provocative, it allows us to fight for American taxpayers who have been footing the bill for too long, the congressman wrote in a text before the NATO summit in Washington.
USA. Trump is assembling his cabinet. He's betting on Florida
The waltz is here second Republican congressman chosen to serve in a second Trump administration, which could at least temporarily reduce the party's expected multi-vote majority in the House of Representatives.
This too another Florida politicianplaying an important role in the new Trump administration. The US ambassador to the UN is to be Congresswoman Elise Stefanik from New York, current president of the Republican Caucus in the House of Representatives.
She will be the new deputy head of the White House Stephen Miller– Vice President-elect JD Vance confirmed.