US President Donald Trump’s government is beginning to take shape, with the confirmation of its first nominee for office: Florida Representative Marco Rubio.

Rubio, 53, was sworn in on Tuesday as Secretary of State, the country’s top diplomat and the highest-ranking position in the Cabinet, second only to the Vice President and President.

The ceremony came after a rare unanimous vote in the Senate to promote him to the position.

All 99 members voted in favor: the only vote missing in the 100-seat chamber is Rubio himself, as he had to step down as a senator to take his new position.

Speaking at the swearing-in ceremony, Vice President J.D. Vance called Rubio “a necessary departure from a generation of failed foreign policy.”

“He’s a bipartisan solution seeker, a guy who can actually get things done, but he’s a conservative with great principles and vision,” Vance said. “And I believe that Senator Rubio, more than anyone I have met in Washington over the past few years, understands President Trump’s distinct priorities.”

But what has Rubio pledged to do in his new role? What did Tuesday’s ceremony reveal about the new diplomat? Here are three takeaways.

Rubio defends State Department employees

In his first remarks as Secretary of State, Rubio praised the federal employees who run the day-to-day operations of the US State Department, the executive agency he is now charged with managing.

“It is an extraordinary honor and privilege to serve in this role, and to be here — frankly, overseeing the greatest, most effective, most talented, and experienced diplomatic corps in the history of the world,” Rubio said.

He added: “I would also like to thank the local employees and citizens of those countries who work with us.” “Without their help, without their support, it would be impossible for us to carry out our mission.”

Rubio’s comments come at a sensitive time for federal civil servants, as Trump enters office with a host of executive actions designed to rein in government bureaucracy.

Just one day ago, on the first day of his second term, Trump threatened to fire employees he considered loyal to his Democratic predecessor, Joe Biden.

“To gain immediate control over the vast, out-of-control federal bureaucracy, I will implement an immediate regulatory freeze, which will prevent Biden bureaucrats from continuing to regulate,” Trump told supporters gathered at Capitol One Arena in Washington, D.C.

“Most of these bureaucrats are being fired. They’re gone. They should be all of them, but some are slipping through.”

On the other hand, Rubio entered his new role defending the work of the State Department and praising its employees.

“There is no other agency in the world, no other agency in our government, that I would rather lead because of the talent gathered here in this room and who are watching around the world,” he said.

Rubio pledges to promote the principle of “America First”

However, Rubio reiterated his firm commitment to advancing Trump’s “America First” policy platform, and warned that changes would come to the State Department as a result.

“There will be changes, but the changes are not meant to be disruptive. They are not meant to be punitive.”

Rubio outlined a vision in which the State Department would play a greater leadership role in government affairs.

“Sometimes, the State Department is relegated to a secondary role because some other agency can move faster or appear bolder or more creative,” Rubio said.

“It’s not your fault. But we’re going to change that. We want to be at the heart of the action. We want to be at the center of how foreign policy is shaped.”

The former senator explained that the department’s role going forward will be more inward-looking, seeking to formulate policies that would make the United States “stronger, safer, or more prosperous.”

He also advised employees to view Trump’s election to a second term in November as a mandate to focus American priorities.

“Our mission, around the world, is to ensure that we have a foreign policy that advances the national interests of the United States,” he said, adding: “I expect every country on Earth to advance its national interests.”

Balancing between hawks and peace

But despite his unified tone on Tuesday, Rubio faced protesters as he sat through Senate hearings on his nomination over the past week.

“Little Marco, get your hands off our country!” One demonstrator shouted, denouncing US involvement in “forever wars.”

Another, speaking Spanish, criticized America’s hardline policies abroad: “Sanctions imposed on Marco Rubio are killing children in Nicaragua, Cuba and Venezuela.”

Rubio brushed off the interruptions with tepid comments. “I understand the bilingual protesters,” the lawmaker, the son of Cuban immigrants, joked. He will be the first Latino to hold the position of Secretary of State.

But the protests were a reminder of Rubio’s reputation as a foreign policy hawk, known for his aggressive stance toward US adversaries abroad.

One of the targets identified during Rubio’s confirmation hearings was China, which imposed sanctions on the Florida politician for supporting autonomy in Hong Kong. He told senators last week that he believes the rivalry between the United States and China “will define the 21st century.”

“The Chinese Communist Party, which leads the People’s Republic of China [People’s Republic of China] “He is the most powerful and dangerous opponent this nation has ever faced,” Rubio said.

He explained that the threat posed by China dwarfs that of the United States’ Cold War rival, the Soviet Union.

“They have elements that the Soviet Union never had. They are our technological adversary and competitor, an industrial competitor, an economic competitor, a geopolitical competitor, a scientific competitor now – in every field.

However, despite his tough stance, Rubio told State Department staff on Tuesday that he intends to follow through on Trump’s promises of world peace.

“This is what we seek to do: promote peace around the world because that is in our national interest,” Rubio said. “Without peace, it is difficult to be a strong nation, a prosperous nation.”

But he admitted that “there will be a struggle.” In explaining how he views US policy abroad, he echoed rhetoric popular among the Christian right: specifically, that the United States was founded on a religious mandate.

“We are, ultimately, a nation founded on a strong principle. That strong principle is that all people are created equal because our rights come from God, our Creator — not from our laws, not from our governments,” Rubio said.

“We hope that the whole world can live under this one day. We will always be strong advocates of this principle.”