U.S. President Donald Trump’s cabinet has begun to be formed, with its first nominee confirmed: Florida Congressman Marco Rubio.

Rubio, 53, was sworn in as secretary of state on Tuesday, the country’s top diplomat and the highest-ranking position in the Cabinet behind the vice president and president.

The ceremony followed a rare unanimous vote by the Senate to appoint him to the post.

All 99 lawmakers voted in favor: the only one missing a vote in the 100-seat chamber was Rubio himself, as he had to resign as a senator to take up his new role.

Vice President J.D. Vance delivered a speech at the swearing-in ceremony, calling Rubio “a necessary departure from a generation of failed foreign policies.”

“He’s a bipartisan solution-seeker, someone who can really get things done, but also a conservative with great principles and vision,” Vance said. “I think Senator Rubio is better than I have been in the past few years. “President Trump’s unique priorities are better understood than anyone I meet in Washington.”

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

Rubio defends State Department employees

In his first speech as secretary of state, Rubio praised the federal employees who run the day-to-day operations of the State Department, the executive agency he now oversees.

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

“I would also like to thank the staff employed locally, as well as the nationals of the countries we work with,” he added. “Without their help, without their support, we couldn’t accomplish our mission.”

Rubio’s comments come at a sensitive time for federal civil servants, with Trump taking office and taking a series of executive actions aimed at reining in the government bureaucracy.

Just a day earlier, on the first day of his second term, Trump threatened to fire staff he considered loyal to his predecessor, Democrat Joe Biden.

“To immediately rein in the vast, runaway federal bureaucracy, I will immediately impose a regulatory freeze that will prevent Biden bureaucrats from continuing to regulate,” Trump told supporters gathered at Congressional Arena One in Washington, D.C.

“Most of the bureaucrats have been fired. They’re gone. Probably all of them, but a few have snuck in.”

By contrast, Rubio entered his new role defending the work of the State Department and praising its staff.

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

Rubio pledges to advance “America First”

Nonetheless, Rubio reiterated his strong commitment to advancing Trump’s “America First” policy platform and warned that the State Department would change as a result.

“There will be changes, but they are not meant to be disruptive. They are not meant to be punitive,” he told an audience made up largely of State Department employees as he was sworn in.

Rubio outlined a vision for the State Department to take a more leading role in government affairs.

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

“It’s not your fault. But we want to change that. We want to be central. We want to be central to shaping foreign policy.”

The former senator explained that the department’s future role will be more inward-looking, seeking to develop policies that make the United States “stronger, more secure, or more prosperous.”

He also advised employees to view Trump’s re-election in November as a mandate centered on American priorities.

“Our job around the world is to make sure that our foreign policy advances the national interests of the United States,” he said. “I want every country on the planet to advance their national interests,” he added.

Balancing Hawks and Peace

Despite Rubio’s unified tone on Tuesday, he faced protesters as he attended Senate hearings on his nomination this past week.

“Little Marco, keep your hands off our country!” one protester shouted, denouncing the United States’ involvement in a “forever war.”

Another Spanish speaker criticized America’s tough policies abroad: “Marco Rubio’s sanctions are killing children in Nicaragua, Cuba and Venezuela.”

Rubio cut through the distractions with light-hearted remarks. “I see bilingual protesters,” the congressman, the child of Cuban immigrants, quipped. He will be the first Latino to serve as secretary of state.

But the protests were a reminder of Rubio’s reputation as a foreign policy hawk known for his aggressive stance against America’s overseas adversaries.

A particular target during Rubio’s confirmation hearings was China, which imposed sanctions on the Florida politician over his support for Hong Kong’s autonomy. He told senators last week that he believed U.S.-China competition would “define the 21st century.”

“The Chinese Communist Party, which leads the People’s Republic of China, is the most powerful and dangerous near-peer adversary this country has ever faced,” Rubio said.

He explained that China’s threat dwarfed that of America’s Cold War rival, the Soviet Union.

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

Still, despite Rubio’s hardline approach, he told State Department staff on Tuesday that he plans to fulfill Trump’s promise of world peace.

“That’s what we try to do: promote peace around the world because it’s in our national interest,” Rubio said. “Without peace, it is difficult for a country to be strong.”

However, he acknowledged that “there will be conflicts.” In explaining how he views U.S. policy abroad, he echoed a popular refrain among the Christian right: that the United States was founded on a religious mission.

“Ultimately, we are a nation founded on a strong principle. That strong principle is that all men are created equal because our rights come from God, our Creator, not from our laws, not from us government,” Rubio said.

“We hope that one day the whole world can live in such conditions. We will always, always be staunch defenders of this principle.”