CNN
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President-elect Donald Trump will likely pick Florida Sen. Marco Rubio as his secretary of state, two people familiar with his thinking told CNN, as he fills out his national security team in a second term.

It was not clear Monday evening whether Trump had formally offered Rubio the role.

As of the morning, one of the sources said, the belief was that Trump was leaning toward Ric Grenell, but during the day he shifted his preference to Rubio after a number of phone calls and conversations with allies of the Florida senator. Grenell served as Trump’s ambassador to Germany during his first administration and later as acting director of national intelligence

Until a formal offer is made, another source advised, Trump could change his mind.

With Trump likely to choose Rubio as his top diplomat and, as CNN previously reported, another China hawk in Florida Rep. Mike Waltz expected to serve as his national security adviser, Rubio’s selection for the role would immediately signal that the president… the willingness of elected officials to aggravate China.

The New York Times first reported Trump’s expected offer to Rubio.

Rubio, who was in the running to become vice president, had made it clear he was interested in potentially joining Trump’s Cabinet if the role was right, several sources familiar with the process told CNN .

Given his deep foreign policy experience and the fact that he serves on both the Senate Intelligence and Foreign Relations Committees, the State Department seemed like a good fit. The senator is also from Florida and has a close relationship with the new chief of staff, Susie Wiles.

A spokesperson for Rubio declined to comment on the case.

After his failed presidential primary with the Republican Party in 2016, Rubio rebuilt his image as a populist in Washington. At the same time, he honed his foreign policy reputation as the leading Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, while building relationships within his party, across the aisle and around the world.

He has used his spot as the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee to take on China, introducing legislation that would block tax credits for electric vehicle batteries made with Chinese technology and questioning the FBI director about Beijing’s influence on TikTok.

Rubio — who has focused on the “China threat” theory for more than a decade — was sanctioned by the Chinese government along with five other U.S. lawmakers in 2020 for “behaving poorly on issues related to Hong Kong.” Now current and former U.S. officials say China will likely have to lift those sanctions to deal with him.

“Getting Rubio is worse for China than getting Pompeo again,” said a former Trump administration official.

The Chinese embassy in Washington DC did not immediately respond when asked whether China would lift current sanctions on Rubio if he became Trump’s secretary of state.

Rubio, a finalist for Trump’s vice president, was a constant on the campaign trail during Trump’s third presidential election.

In 2016, the relationship between Rubio and Trump seemed beyond repair when Rubio publicly attacked Trump in the final days of his campaign, saying he would “not make America great.” He’s going to turn America orange,” ridiculing the size of Trump’s hands and calling him a “con man” vying to take over the Republican Party.

But since then, the relationship between Rubio and Trump has not only thawed, but strengthened.

This story has been updated with additional details.

CNN’s Jack Forrest, Lauren Fox and Steve Contorno contributed to this report.