Trump picks Rubio as secretary of state and Gabbard as director of national intelligence

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump has picked Tulsi Gabbard, a former Democratic congresswoman and presidential candidate, as director of national intelligence, continuing to fill his Cabinet with loyal figures who complement his own, rather than long-term professionals in hers respective areas of expertise.

“As a former candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, she enjoys broad support in both parties – now she is a proud Republican!” Trump said in a statement. “I know that Tulsi will bring the fearless spirit that has defined her illustrious career to our intelligence community by standing up for our constitutional rights and ensuring peace through strength. Tulsi will make us all proud!”

Gabbard, who served in the Army National Guard for more than two decades and was stationed in Iraq and Kuwait, would take on the role as something of an outsider compared to her predecessor. The current director, Avril Haines, was confirmed by the Senate in 2021 after holding various top national security and intelligence positions for several years.

Gabbard has not worked directly in the intelligence community outside of House committees, including two years on the Homeland Security Committee. Like others Trump has chosen to lead his agency, she was among his most popular political surrogates, often drawing thunderous reactions from the crowd when she campaigned on his behalf in the final months of the campaign.

This is a recent update. AP’s earlier story follows below.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump called Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida as its nominee for secretary of state, setting up a former critic who became one of the president-elect’s fiercest defenders and the country’s top diplomat.

The conservative lawmaker is a well-known hawk on China, Cuba and Iran and was among the finalists for Trump’s candidacy this summer.

On Capitol Hill, Rubio is vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He is pushing for a tougher stance against China and has targeted the social media app TikTok because its parent company is Chinese. He and other lawmakers argue that Beijing can demand access to users’ data at any time.

“He will be a strong advocate for our nation, a true friend to our allies and a fearless warrior who will never give in to our adversaries,” Trump said of Rubio in a statement.

Trump made the announcement as he flew back to Florida from Washington after meeting with President Joe Biden.

The selection is the culmination of a long, complicated history between the two men. During their tense contest for the GOP presidential nomination in 2016, Rubio was particularly outspoken in his criticism of Trump, calling him a “fraud” and “the most vulgar person to ever seek the presidency.”

He tried to counter Trump’s often crude attacks by joking about the size of Trump’s hands in a nod to his masculinity. Trump responded by branding Rubio “Little Marco,” a nickname that stuck with the senator for years.

But like many Republicans seeking to maintain their relevance in the Trump era, Rubio changed his rhetoric. As speculation grew that Trump might choose him as his running mate, Rubio sought to downplay tensions from 2016, suggesting that the heated tone merely reflected the intensity of a campaign.

“That’s like asking a boxer why he punched someone in the face in the third round,” Rubio told CNN when asked about his previous comments. “That’s because they boxed.”

Rubio was first elected to the Senate in 2010 as part of the Republican Tea Party wave that swept Washington. He quickly gained a reputation as someone who could embody a more diverse, welcoming Republican Party. He was a key member of a group that worked on a 2013 immigration law that provided a path to citizenship for millions of people living in the country illegally.

But that legislation stalled in the House, where more conservative Republicans were in charge, signaling the sharp rightward shift the party — and Rubio — would soon take. Now Rubio says he supports Trump’s plan to use the U.S. military to deport those in the country illegally.

“We have to do something, unfortunately we have to do something dramatic,” Rubio said in an interview with NBC in May.

He also repeats many of Trump’s attacks on his opponents, as well as his false or unproven theories about voter fraud. After Trump was convicted of 34 crimes Rubio wrote in a column for Newsweek that New York prosecutors’ allegation was a plot to illegally influence the 2016 election, saying Trump was “held hostage” in court for “a sham political trial “as carried out by communists against their political opponents in Cuba.” and the Soviet Union.”

Trump, meanwhile, has backed away from his insistence as president on banning TikTok in the United States and recently opened his own account on the platform.

A bill that would require the Chinese company ByteDance to do so Sell ​​TikTok or threaten to ban it in the United States was supported by Rubio, although Trump opposed the effort.

Rubio’s Democratic counterpart on the Senate Intelligence Committee, Chairman Mark Warner of Virginia, praised the choice.

“I have worked with Marco Rubio on the Intelligence Committee for more than a decade, particularly closely in recent years in his role as vice chairman, and while we may not always agree, he is and will be smart and talented.” strong voice for American interests around the globe,” Warner said in a statement.

Earlier on Wednesday, Trump announced that his longtime aide Dan Scavino would serve as deputy, without specifying a specific portfolio, campaign chairman James Blair would serve as deputy for legislative, policy and public affairs, and Taylor Budowich would serve as deputy chief of staff for communications and human resources. All will have the rank of assistant to the president.

Trump also formally announced that Stephen Miller, an immigration hardliner, will become deputy chief of staff for policy and homeland security adviser. Vice President-elect JD Vance had already confirmed this on Monday.

Blair was the political director of Trump’s campaign and, after Trump became the Republican Party’s presumptive nominee, the political director of the Republican National Committee. He previously worked on Trump’s 2020 campaign in Florida and was a top adviser to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

Scavino was a senior adviser to Trump’s campaign and worked as social media director during his first term in the White House.

He began working for Trump as a caddy at one of Trump’s golf courses and was among the small group of staffers who traveled with the president around the country throughout the campaign. He frequently posts memes and videos of Trump’s campaign trips online and catalogs the campaign from the inside on social media.

Before joining the campaign, Budowich worked for the pro-Trump super PAC Maga Inc., and after Trump left office, Budowich served as his spokesman while working for Trump’s political action committee, Save America.

“Dan, Stephen, James and Taylor were best-in-class advisers in my victorious campaign, and I know they will serve the American people honorably in the White House,” Trump said in a statement. “They will continue to work hard in their respective new roles to Make America Great Again.”

Miller is one of Trump’s most senior advisers, having worked for the White House in his first campaign. He was a senior adviser in Trump’s first term and played a central role in many of his policy decisions, particularly on immigration, including Trump’s move in 2018 to separate thousands of immigrant families as a deterrence program.

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Colvin reported from New York and Miller from Washington.