U.S. Senate votes to confirm Marco Rubio as secretary of state, first Trump Cabinet official to be approved

The U.S. Senate voted on Monday to confirm Marco Rubio as President Donald Trump’s secretary of state, the first high-level Cabinet official for the new administration to be approved by the chamber, CNN reports. 

The confirmation vote took place just hours after Trump was sworn in as president. The overwhelmingly bipartisan vote was 99 to 0 with no senators voting against the nomination.

Rubio has served as a Republican senator from Florida since 2011, and his nomination drew strong support from a number of Senate Democrats, who called their colleague highly qualified for the role.

Rubio went from Trump adversary to ally in recent years in a remarkable political turnaround. Now, he will play a key role as a high-ranking official in Trump’s new administration.