According to the New York Times, the president-elect is considering appointing influential Florida senator Marco Rubio as secretary of state. Mr. Rubio, 53, had already been tipped to become the Republican vice-presidential candidate, with Mr. Trump ultimately preferring JD Vance.
If this nomination is confirmed, it would mark a spectacular turnaround on the part of Marco Rubio, who in 2016, while facing Donald Trump in the Republican primaries, had described the billionaire as a “scammer” and “the nicest person “the most vulgar person who ever aspired to the presidency.”
The Cuban-born senator, vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said last week on CNN that he was “always interested in serving this country.”
Donald Trump also chose Elise Stefanik, a 40-year-old representative from New York State, for the post of United States ambassador to the United Nations. “Elise is a fighter for America first, incredibly strong, tenacious and intelligent,” explained the man who is preparing to return to the White House in January.
Elected to Congress in 2014 at just 30 years old, Elise Stefanik has gradually established herself among Donald Trump's most ardent supporters. She made national headlines for her impetuous defense of the president during his first impeachment proceedings in 2019, then refused to certify the presidential election won in 2020 by Joe Biden.
More recently, in December 2023, she was the protagonist of a sequence that went viral on social networks, where we see her questioning in an extremely tense manner Claudine Gay, the president of Harvard University, about pro-Palestinian slogans heard on campus. Ms. Gay then resigned. Elise Stefanik accused the UN in mid-October of “languishing in anti-Semitism”.
Strong support from Israel
Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, congratulated Ms. Stefanik on Monday. “At a time when hatred and lies fill the halls of the United Nations, your resolute moral clarity is needed more than ever,” he wrote.
In American political life, the post of United States Ambassador to the United Nations often serves as a springboard towards higher functions, as evidenced by the careers of Madeleine Albright, Secretary of State under Bill Clinton, Susan Rice, advisor in National Security under Barack Obama, or even George Bush Sr., who became president.
Donald Trump also announced that he would entrust the burning issue of immigration control at the borders to Tom Homan, a hard-liner. Mr. Homan will be responsible for implementing the candidate's promise to carry out the largest deportation of illegal immigrants in United States history.
Another “hawk,” Florida Representative and former Special Forces fighter Michael Waltz, will be named to the crucial post of National Security Advisor, the Washington Post and Wall Street Journal said Monday.
The president-elect also appointed Lee Zeldin, another close friend of his, to head the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). “He will ensure rapid and fair deregulation decisions are made that will boost the strength of American businesses, while maintaining the highest environmental standards,” explained the future Republican president.
The winner of the presidential election should finally appoint Stephen Miller as deputy director of his office, one of his close advisors since the time of his first successful campaign for the White House.
Bypass the Senate
Donald Trump has demonstrated his desire to bypass the laborious confirmation processes, by senators, of the people he appoints, despite the fact that the Republicans have regained control of the upper house of Congress. To do this, he plans to use a clause that allows the president to make temporary appointments when the Senate is not in session.
“Any Republican senator interested in the coveted position of Majority Leader of the United States Senate must agree to (this clause), without which we will not be able to have people confirmed on time,” he said. writes Mr. Trump, who will be received at the White House on Wednesday by Joe Biden.
