Marco Rubio has changed a lot since he ran for president in 2016. But his political evolution has made him uniquely qualified to be Trump's secretary of state.

The U.S. Senate on Monday unanimously confirmed Republican Senator Marco Rubio, a China hawk and staunch backer of Israel, as President Donald Trump's secretary of state.

Hours after Trump was sworn in as president, senators confirmed his first Cabinet pick and advanced the nominations of several others through committee.

Former Florida Senator Marco Rubio became the first Donald Trump cabinet official when he was confirmed by the Senate on Monday. Vice President JD Vance has sworn in Marco Rubio as Secretary of State, the first of Trump’s cabinet nominees to take the job.

The Senate has confirmed Marco Rubio as secretary of state, giving President Donald Trump the first member of his Cabinet.

Rubio lost to Trump in 2016 but he’s living his best life as Secretary of State, approved unanimously by his Senate colleagues.

ET Secretary of State Marco Rubio became the first Senate-confirmed official to be sworn into President Trump’s cabinet. Photo: Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters

Marco Rubio, a veteran Republican senator who once ran against Donald Trump for the party’s presidential nomination, was confirmed as his secretary of state, the first of the president’s second-term nominees to be approved by the Senate.