WASHINGTON, D.C. – Liz Schrayer, President and CEO of the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition (USGLC), released the following statement on the selection of Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) to serve as the next Secretary of State:

USGLC congratulates Senator Marco Rubio on his selection by President-elect Trump to serve as the next Secretary of State and looks forward to continuing to work together to advance American global leadership to protect our nation’s interests in the world.

During his tenure in the U.S. Senate, Senator Rubio has built a reputation as an experienced leader on national security and foreign policy – serving as Vice Chair of the Select Committee on Intelligence and as a senior foreign affairs authorizer and appropriator.

At a time when foreign rivals are seeking to undermine America’s security and economic interests, Senator Rubio has consistently underscored “the necessity of American leadership.” Earlier this year, Senator Rubio explained that “the challenges to freedom and democracy all over the world are embedded in this new coalition of governments—of China and Russia and North Korea and Iran—who are not in a formal alliance like NATO, but are increasingly cooperating… Nations around the world need to see, that freedom and democracy are not just something to aspire to as an ideal but as a practical matter. It works, and it works better than totalitarianism.”

A respected voice on a range of national security issues from Latin America to strategic competition with China, Senator Rubio has led bipartisan efforts to promote international religious freedom, strengthen basic education for children worldwide, advance women’s global economic empowerment, and improve accountability and transparency in foreign assistance. He has reinforced the importance of civilian national security tools to keep America safe, saying: “Foreign Aid is not charity. We must make sure it is well spent, but it is less than 1% of budget and critical to our national security.”

As his nomination advances, we look forward to working with Senator Rubio to ensure our diplomatic and development workforce is fully equipped to protect America’s values and interests around the world.