The president-elect of the United States, Republican Donald Trump, announced this Wednesday the nomination of the congressman Matt Gaetz of the most far-right wing of the party, such as next attorney general; and the senator from Florida of Cuban origin Marco Rubio as the country’s new Secretary of State.
“It is my great honor to announce that Congressman Matt Gaetz of Florida is nominated to be Attorney General of the United States. Matt is a tenacious and deeply talented lawyer“Trump declared in a statement. The next president has indicated that “few issues” in the US are more important than “putting an end to the instrumentalization” of the judicial system that, according to him, has been carried out by the Joe Biden Administration.
“Gaetz will dismantle criminal organizations and restore citizens’ faith and trust in the severely shattered Department of Justice.” The appointment of the head of the Department of Justice is one of the most important for Trump. The Republican plans to order, when he takes power, the closure of the investigations that the prosecutor’s office opened against him for the assault on the Capitol and for taking classified documents from the White House.
Trump is in favor of instructing the attorney general to defend his policies in court and even to open judicial investigations against his political rivals. After a tense relationship with his first term prosecutors, Jeff Sessions and William Barr, he was expected to choose a very loyal person who would never turn his back on him.
Gaetz, 41, has been a member of the House of Representatives for Florida since January 2017. In Congress, he has characterized himself as one of the legislators of the most extreme right wing of the Republican Party and fully aligned with Trump’s wishes. In fact, he led the internal revolt that overthrew the then President of the House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy in October 2023 because he had reached legislative agreements with the Democrats.
Rubio will be the next Secretary of State
The president-elect has also confirmed the news that had been circulating for several days: the election of Rubio as the highest representative of American diplomacy, becoming the first Latino to assume the position. “Marco is a highly respected leader and a very powerful voice for freedom. He will be a strong defender of our nation, a true friend to our allies and a brave warrior who will never surrender to our adversaries,” Trump said.
Rubio, the text adds, “will not stop until American politics returns to focus on common sense and the common good“. Through social networks, Rubio stated that leading the US State Department “is an enormous responsibility” and that he feels “honored by the trust” that Trump has placed in him.
“As Secretary of State, I will work every day to advance your foreign policy agenda. Under the leadership of President Trump we will achieve peace through force and we will always put the interests of Americans and the United States above everything else,” he said.
Born in Miami in 1971, Marco Rubio is considered a ‘hawk’ in foreign policy, a supporter of tough line with China and Iran, and sanctions on Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua. He gained national popularity when he participated in the primary for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, in which he faced Trump, among others. After withdrawing from that race, he expressed his loyalty to the magnate and, from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, had influence on the policy towards Latin America of the first Trump Administration.
Marco Rubio’s is the third secretary that Trump announces for his cabinet, after Defense, Pete Hegseth, and Homeland Security, Kristi Noem. Among other appointments, the Republican has also placed Susie Wiles as his chief of staff, John Ratcliffe as director of the CIA, Sliese Stefanik as ambassador to the UN and Tom Homan as ‘czar’ of the border.
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