Marco Rubio’s appointment as US national security adviser on top of his role as secretary of state could help streamline communications with Beijing despite his hawkish views on China, according to some analysts.
Advertisement
Rubio will be the first secretary of state since Henry Kissinger to hold both roles at the same time and the latest appointment makes him a direct counterpart of China’s Wang Yi.
On Thursday, US President Donald Trump said national security adviser Michael Waltz – who has been under pressure since it emerged a journalist had been added to a group chat discussing classified information – would leave his post and had been nominated to become the next US ambassador to the United Nations instead.
“In the interim, Secretary of State Marco Rubio will serve as national security adviser, while continuing his strong leadership at the State Department,” Trump said on social media
Rubio, who has been described as the “secretary of everything” by The New York Times, has also taken control of the US Agency for International Development.
Advertisement
Kissinger, who died last year aged 100, had previously held both jobs for around two years under Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford before stepping down as national security adviser in 1975.
Rubio was known for his hawkish views on Russia, China and Iran during his time as a senator, but since joining the Trump administration he has shifted his focus away from human rights to target China’s trade practices instead.