According to sources, Trump is likely to nominate Marco Rubio as his secretary of state

CNN
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President-elect Donald Trump is likely to nominate Florida Sen. Marco Rubio as his secretary of state, two people familiar with his thinking told CNN, as he fills out his national security team for a second term.

As of Monday evening, it was unclear whether Trump had formally offered Rubio the role.

One of the sources said that in the morning it was believed Trump was leaning toward Ric Grenell, but later in the day he shifted his preference to Rubio after a series of calls and conversations with allies of the Florida senator. Grenell was Trump’s ambassador to Germany during his first term in office and later acting director of national intelligence

By the time an official offer is made, Trump could change his mind, another source said.

The New York Times first reported Trump’s expected offer.

Rubio, who was running for vice president, has made it clear that he is interested in potentially joining Trump’s Cabinet if he gets the right position, multiple sources familiar with the process told CNN.

Given his extensive foreign policy experience and the fact that he sits on both the Senate Intelligence Committee and the Foreign Relations Committee, the State Department appeared to be a good fit for Rubio. The senator is also from Florida and has a close relationship with new chief of staff Susie Wiles.

A Rubio spokesman declined to comment on the matter.

The Florida senator, a China hawk and Trump vice presidential finalist, was a constant on the campaign trail during Trump’s third presidential run.

After his failed Republican presidential primary in 2016, Rubio rebuilt his image in Washington as a populist. At the same time, he sharpened his foreign policy credentials as the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee while building relationships within his party, across the party floor, and around the world.

He used his position as the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee to take on China, introducing legislation that would block tax credits for electric vehicle batteries made with Chinese technology and criticizing the FBI director over Beijing’s influence on TikTok.

In 2016, the relationship between Rubio and Trump appeared beyond repair when, in the final days of his campaign, Rubio publicly attacked Trump, saying he would “not make America great.” He will make America orange,” mocks the size of Trump’s hands and calls him a “fraud” vying to take over the Republican Party.

But since then, the relationship between Rubio and Trump has not only thawed, but grown even stronger.

CNN’s Jack Forrest, Lauren Fox and Steve Contorno contributed to this report.