Marco Rubio on track to take office quickly as US secretary of state

A Senate committee on Monday fast-tracked Marco Rubio’s nomination to be US secretary of state, paving the way for him to take over quickly as top diplomat under US President Donald Trump.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee – of which Rubio, a senator from Florida, has been a member – voted unanimously to approve his nomination, sending it to the full Senate.

The quick vote stands in contrast to Trump’s more controversial nominees who either await contested votes or, in some cases, have not yet had confirmation hearings.

“We are glad to have worked in a bipartisan way to ensure that one of our own, Senator Marco Rubio, could be positioned to quickly take the helm of the State Department,” the committee’s Republican chairman, Jim Risch, and its top Democrat, Jeanne Shaheen, said in a joint statement.

“The national security of the United States is this committee’s primary focus – and it is to the benefit of our country to have steady leadership in place as soon as possible,” they said.

“We believe that Senator Rubio has the skills, knowledge and experience to lead the department.”