Former U.S. senator from Florida Marco Rubio jumps into new role as secretary of state with flurry of phone calls, planned trip to Panama.

The new secretary of state took center stage in a diplomatic rift with Colombia over deportation flights, adding teeth to Trump's threats of sanctions.

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

Washington — The Senate on Monday confirmed Marco Rubio as secretary of state, making him the first of President Trump's Cabinet nominees to win the approval of the upper chamber. The Senate confirmed Rubio in a 99 to 0 vote as his former colleagues in the Senate touted his qualifications for the job.

WASHINGTON (AP) — For Marco Rubio, the easy part is over ... the son of Cuban immigrants who arrived in Miami in May 1956 “with nothing but the dream of a better life,” he testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last week.

Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida has been confirmed to serve as President Donald Trump’s secretary of state, becoming the first member of Trump’s cabinet to receive the approval of the U.S. Senate since Trump took office Monday afternoon. The vote was nearly unanimous, with 99 senators supporting his confirmation.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Thursday that Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody will replace Marco Rubio in the Senate, but who is Moody?

As state attorney general, Moody sought to restrict people’s voting rights and tried to block a statewide referendum.

The U.S. Senate has confirmed U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio unanimously to become the nation’s next Secretary of State.

After a unanimous confirmation vote hours after the President was inaugurated Monday, the former Senator was sworn as Secretary of State on Tuesday. Rubio promised to help Trump deliver on a foreign policy vision for which he has a “clear mandate.”

Marco Rubio, who has represented Florida in the Senate since 2011, is known for his hawkish stance on China and has been sanctioned by the country twice.

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.