After President-elect Donald Trump appointed the current vice chairman, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), as secretary of state in the new administration, Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas will serve on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. It is expected that he will become the next chairman.
The Arkansas Republican, an outspoken critic of both China and Iran, is expected to lead the committee after Rubio, sources confirmed to Fox News Digital.
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Sen. Tom Cotton is running for Senate Republican Conference Chairman. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc, via Getty Images)
However, the final decision on committee leadership will be made by Republican leaders.
Cotton's office declined to comment to Fox News Digital.
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Sen. Marco Rubio is expected to become secretary of state. (Joe Radle/Getty Images)
Sources told Fox News Digital on Monday night that Rubio would be selected by President Trump for the coveted State Department position. However, they noted that the next president could still change his mind and go in a different direction.
The current chairman of Intel is Sen. Mark Warner, Democrat of Virginia, and he is expected to become vice chairman in the new Republican-controlled Congress.
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Senator Mark Warner is the Chairman of the Intelligence Committee. (Reuters)
Mr Cotton explicitly removed his name from cabinet consideration last week. Axios First reported.
A person close to the Arkansas Republican told Fox that the senator was seen by many as a front-runner for a cabinet position in the incoming Trump administration, but that he was not being talked into by the Trump transition team or his fellow senators. He reportedly told them that he asked that his name be removed from consideration. news.
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Sen. Tom Cotton is an ally of President-elect Donald Trump. (Zach Gibson/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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Cotton is currently running for the No. 3 position in the Republican Party's leadership and feels “confident” he will hold the job.
The person said Trump understands Cotton's decision and knows he will be “with him all the way in the Senate.”
