Secretary of State Marco Rubio, sending out his first message to the U.S. diplomatic corps after his confirmation, promised that the department will once again be the primary agency to lead foreign policy, but stressed that there will be major changes in line with President Donald Trump's election mandate.
"Trump was elected with a clear mandate for sweeping change, in foreign no less than in domestic affairs," Rubio, a former U.S. senator from Florida, said in his department-wide letter, obtained by NBC News Tuesday.
"Certain priorities will be replaced, certain issues de-emphasized, and some practices we will cease altogether," Rubio said.
The priorities, he added, will be "securing America's borders, stopping illegal and destabilizing migration, and negotiating the repatriation of illegal immigrants."
"Mass migration is among the most consequential issues of our time," said Rubio. "The era of mass migration must end."
Rubio said the State Department will also follow Trump's executive order eliminating diversity initiatives "in both letter and spirit."
"There is tremendous talent and expertise in this Department — I have seen it firsthand in missions across the globe — and upholding strict meritocracy is essential to securing our nation's future," Rubio wrote.
He added that the State Department will also prioritize energy dominance rather than the climate policies of recent decades that have "weakened America," but "will not ignore threats to our natural environment."
Rubio also called on the department to stop "pushing political and cultural causes that are divisive at home and deeply unpopular abroad," calling them "counterproductive activities."
"This will not be my mission — it must be OUR mission," he concluded. "There is no agency of government I would rather lead than this one, and no team of public servants I would rather work with than you."
The Senate unanimously confirmed Rubio on Monday. He is the first Hispanic person to hold the position and Trump's first cabinet nominee to be confirmed. He received a 99-0 vote, with the remaining Senate seat remaining vacant by the inauguration of Vice President J.D. Vance, an Ohio Republican.