Former U.S. senator from Florida Marco Rubio jumps into new role as secretary of state with flurry of phone calls, planned trip to Panama.

The Senate confirmed Senator Marco Rubio, Republican of Florida, on Monday as America’s 72nd secretary of state, putting a former political rival of President Trump at the helm of American diplomacy.

State Department staff were instructed to “suspend any application requesting an X sex marker” and to “suspend any application where the applicant is seeking to change their sex marker.”

During an interview with Megyn Kelly, Rubio said that Trump's desire to purchase the Danish territory of Greenland is serious.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio says President Donald Trump’s desire to acquire Greenland and retake control of the Panama Canal is driven by legitimate national security interests stemming from growing concerns about Chinese activity and influence in the Arctic and in Latin America.

After taking the oath of office, Marco Rubio promised that every action taken by the State Department will be determined by the answers to three questions.

While Rubio’s anti-China rhetoric aligns with Washington’s broader geopolitical goals, the tools at his disposal are insufficient to match Beijing’s economic engagement.

China's top diplomat held his first phone conversation with the new US secretary of state on Friday, days after Donald Trump's return to the White House brought more uncertainty to relations. Since then,

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday he had "zero doubt" that China has a contingency plan to shut down the Panama Canal in the event of a conflict with the U.S. and that Washington intends to address what it sees as a national security threat.

The new secretary of state took center stage in a diplomatic rift with Colombia over deportation flights, adding teeth to Trump's threats of sanctions.

Secretary of State Rubio spoke with China's Director of the CCP Central Foreign Affairs Commission and Foreign Minister Wang Yi.