US Senate Confirms Marco Rubio As Secretary Of State

(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) WASHINGTON, Jan 21 (KUNA) -- The US Senate voted unanimously to appoint Senator Marco Rubio as Secretary of State in the administration of new President Donald Trump, who took office yesterday, Monday.
According to the Senate media department, Rubio received 99 votes out of 100 in yesterday's vote, and no member of the Senate voted against him.
Rubio became the first member of Trump's cabinet to receive Senate approval, just hours after the new president was sworn in for a second and final term.
Last week, Rubio testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on several issues, including his general vision for American foreign policy, stressing that the priority will be the US, and that "wisdom in conducting foreign policy does not mean abandoning our values."
Yesterday, Trump announced in a statement that Robert Salesses will be acting Secretary of Defense, while Benjamin Hoffman will serve as acting Secretary of Homeland Security, and lawyer James McHenry will serve as acting Attorney General, while senior Treasury official David Liebrick will lead the department temporarily.
These temporary secretaries will serve until the Senate approves Trump's chosen secretaries, whose approval could take a few days, as the Senate continues to work on their confirmation. (end)
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