(CNN) — President-elect Donald Trump is likely to pick Florida Sen. Marco Rubio as his secretary of state, two people familiar with his thinking told CNN, as he rounds out his national security team in a second term.
It was not clear as of Monday night whether Trump had formally offered Rubio the role.
As of the morning, one of the sources said, the belief was that Trump was leaning toward Ric Grenell, but over the course of the day, he shifted his preference to Rubio after a number of calls and conversations with allies of the Florida senator. Grenell served as Trump’s ambassador to Germany and later as acting director of national intelligence during his first administration
Until an offer is formally made, another source advised, Trump could change his mind.
With Trump likely to pick Rubio as his top diplomat and, as CNN earlier reported, another China hawk in Florida Rep. Mike Waltz expected to serve as his national security adviser, Rubio’s selection for the role would signal right out of the gates the president-elect’s willingness to aggravate China.
The New York Times first reported on Trump’s expected offer to Rubio.
Rubio, who was in the running to be vice president, had made it clear that he was interested in potentially joining Trump’s Cabinet if it was for the right role, several sources familiar with the process told CNN.
Given his deep foreign policy experience and that he sits on both the Senate Intelligence Committee and the Foreign Relations Committee, the State Department seemed like a good fit for him. The senator also hails from Florida and has a close relationship with the incoming chief of staff, Susie Wiles.
A Rubio spokesperson declined to comment on the matter.
After his failed GOP presidential primary in 2016, Rubio rebuilt his image in the likeness of a populist in Washington. At the same time, he sharpened his foreign policy credentials as the leading Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, while building relationships in his party, across the aisle and around the globe.
He has used his perch as the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee to take on China, introducing legislation that would block tax credits for electric vehicle batteries produced using Chinese technology and grilling the FBI director on Beijing’s influence over TikTok.
Rubio – who has spent more than a decade focused on the “China threat” theory – was sanctioned along with five other US lawmakers by the Chinese government in 2020 for “behaving badly on Hong Kong-related issues.” Now, current and former US officials say that China is likely going to have to remove those sanctions in order to deal with him.
“Getting Rubio is worse for China than getting Pompeo again,” said a former Trump administration official.
The Chinese embassy in Washington, DC, did not immediately respond when asked whether China would lift the sanctions currently in place on Rubio if he becomes Trump’s secretary of state.
Rubio, a finalist for Trump’s vice president, was a constant on the campaign trail during Trump’s third presidential run.
In 2016, Rubio and Trump’s relationship seemed it may be beyond repair when in the closing days of his campaign, Rubio publicly attacked Trump, saying he wasn’t going to “make America great. He’s gonna make America orange,” mocking the size of Trump’s hands and calling him a “con artist” vying to take over the Republican Party.
But since, Rubio and Trump’s relationship has not only thawed, it has strengthened.
This story has been updated with additional details.
CNN’s Jack Forrest, Lauren Fox and Steve Contorno contributed to this report.
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