US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken plans to meet with his successor Senator Marco Rubio to discuss the transition of US diplomatic leadership, the State Department said Thursday, while the Pentagon promised “calm” and ” successful’ transition.

“I have no doubt that in the weeks to come, there will be sufficient contacts” between Mr. Rubio and Blinken, State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told accredited reporters.

Donald Trump announced yesterday Wednesday that he will appoint Senator Marco Rubio as Secretary of State.

The 53-year-old Florida politician, known for his extremely hostile stances on China, Iran, Venezuela, will be “a passionate defender of our nation, a true friend to allies and a fearless warrior who will never back down against adversaries.” us”, assured the president-elect in a statement.

At the Department of Defense, deputy spokeswoman Sabrina Sigg promised that “we will do everything we can to ensure an orderly and peaceful transition.”

“When the team of the next (US) secretary of defense is ready for the transition, we will guarantee that it will be successful,” he added during a briefing for accredited editors, without referring to any contact between outgoing Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and the one to whom Donald Trump will entrust the office, Pete Hegseth.

The latter, in recent years the host of the Fox News television network, preferred by the American right, is a decorated former infantry major of the National Guard, who had served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

If the 44-year-old, who has never commanded any institution, is confirmed by the US Senate, he will be tasked with directing the 3.4 million military and civilian personnel who work for the Department of Defense and managing a pharaonic budget of more than 850 billion dollars.

Ms. Sigg was also asked about the incoming Trump administration’s plans to cut federal spending and fire senior officials she considers “woke.” The spokeswoman did not immediately respond, but referred to problems caused by the blocking of the appointments of 425 officers by Alabama Republican Sen. Tommy Tampereville, who opposed the Pentagon’s policy on abortion rights.

Congress finally approved the appointments in December 2023.

“You will remember the period when we had pending (the appointments of) a large number of generals and senior officers (…) and so we had people working in two, three positions at the same time: yes, that would have an impact on operations and morale and ministry,” warned Sabrina Singh.