The U.S. Senate voted on Monday evening to confirm Florida Senator Marco Rubio as Secretary of State, making him the first official member of President Donald Trump’s cabinet.
The vote was unanimous, with 99 senators voting in his favor.
Rubio broke tradition and cast a vote for himself, according to Fox News congressional reporter Chad Pergram.
“Vote still open, but Senate on track to confirm Rubio as Secretary of State, 99-0 First cabinet secretary in the Trump administration. There are only 99 senators now with the Vance vacancy. Note that Rubio broke with custom and voted for himself. Senators usually vote ‘present’ when they are up for cabinet slots,” he noted before the vote was made official.
Immediately after his confirmation, Rubio resigned as senator, leaving the door open for Governor Ron DeSantis’ (R-FL) choice to replace him in the deliberative body.
Just over an our prior to his confirmation, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee had also voted unanimously (22-0) to advance his nomination to the floor.
Two of Rubio’s fellow nominees — Pete Hegseth (Defense Secretary) and John Ratcliffe (CIA) — have also advanced from their respective committees. Ratcliffe, like Rubio, saw a few Democrats cross party lines to vote in favor of advancing his nomination. Hegseth’s advance was along party lines.
The Senate also voted on Monday to pass the Laken Riley Act.
