Trump is considering becoming national security adviser and Rubio is considering the role of secretary of state

President-elect Donald Trump is expected to nominate Rep. Michael Waltz, a Florida Republican, as national security adviser, two sources familiar with the matter told CBS News, the BBC’s U.S. affiliate.

A veteran of the war in Afghanistan and a long-time Trump supporter, Waltz was re-elected to Congress last week – although he must leave office to serve in the White House.

In this role, Waltz would serve as a key White House adviser on national security and foreign policy issues. It is a prominent role that requires no confirmation.

Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida is in talks to become Trump’s nominee for secretary of state, although the election is not yet a done deal, two sources told CBS.

Waltz and Rubio’s offices did not respond to the BBC’s request for comment.

Waltz, a decorated Green Beret and Army veteran, served multiple tours in Afghanistan, the Middle East and Africa.

In his book, “Warrior Diplomat: A Green Beret’s Battles from Washington to Afghanistan,” he drew on his experiences in the Pentagon during the George W. Bush administration and in combat.

Waltz’s military experience led to key assignments on the National Security Committee when he was elected to Congress in 2018, serving on the Armed Services, Foreign Affairs and Intelligence Committees.

The Florida congressman’s views expressed in Congress closely resemble Republicans’ policy views on national security and foreign policy since Trump’s election in 2016 – but they also recognize the U.S.’s key role in global affairs.

Waltz has suggested NATO allies increase their defense spending, although he hasn’t gone as far as Trump in saying the U.S. should leave the alliance entirely.

“Look, we can be allies and friends and have difficult conversations,” Waltz said last month.

He said the U.S. should maintain its support for Ukraine, but in recent weeks he has argued for a reassessment of U.S. money helping the country.

Waltz also took a hard line on China in Congress, arguing as chairman of the Armed Forces Readiness Subcommittee that the U.S. needs to do more to prepare for the conflict in the Pacific.

Since the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, Waltz has frequently criticized President Joe Biden and the White House for his decision to leave the country.

Waltz would be the second member of Congress to be nominated in the next Trump administration, which would cause him to resign from the House of Representatives and potentially narrow the Republican majority.

He would be the fifth national security adviser under Trump, who appointed four different men to the position in his first term. He fired three of them.

Michael Flynn, a retired general and Trump loyalist, lasted just 24 days in office before being fired.

Trump then appointed and fired H.R. McMaster, another retired general who later criticized the president-elect and his allies in a memoir he published earlier this year.

John Bolton, who held the post for 17 months and was Trump’s longest-serving national security adviser before he was also fired, was highly critical of his former boss and spoke out against the president-elect’s efforts to return to the White House.

Robert O’Brien, a lawyer who served in the Bush administration, ended Trump’s first term as national security adviser.

It’s not yet certain whether Rubio will be nominated for secretary of state, but the Florida Republican’s career has made him America’s next top diplomat.

Several US media outlets have reported that Rubio is in talks with the Trump transition team about the leadership position, but these have not yet been completed. It seems the president-elect may still change his mind.

Rubio, however, has expanded his resume in the Senate.

He is vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and a member of the Foreign Relations Committee.

Rubio is considered a foreign policy hawk, particularly toward China and Iran. Although he supported Ukraine, he previously said the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine must be “concluded.”

Trump and Rubio now have a friendly relationship, but it wasn’t always that way.

Both men ran for president in 2016 and a bitter rivalry developed. They clashed on various issues – particularly immigration – and the conflict resulted in various insults: Trump referred to the senator as “Little Marco” and Rubio mocked Trump’s “little hands.”

The 53-year-old Florida senator supported his rival and the two mended their relationship during Trump’s first term.

Rubio was one of Trump’s early supporters in this election’s primaries.

Rubio, the son of working-class Cuban immigrants, was first elected to the Senate in 2010.

He has since become a fixture in Republican politics and was once considered a potential candidate for Republican nominee Mitt Romney in 2012 and Trump in 2024.