Washington DC - President-elect Donald Trump is reportedly expected to name Florida Senator Marco Rubio as secretary of state.

It quoted three people as saying that the decision is not final, but that Trump appears to have settled on Rubio, a loyalist whom Trump passed over as his vice presidential running mate.

Rubio has been consistently named over the last week as one of the frontrunners to head US diplomacy, along with the abrasive former ambassador to Germany, Ric Grenell.

He would become a key architect of Trump's second term "America First" foreign policy, with Trump having promised to end the wars raging in Ukraine and the Middle East and avoid any more American military entanglements overseas.

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Fellow Florida Senator Rick Scott sent congratulations to Rubio in a message on X, writing: "He will restore American leadership around the world, especially in Latin America, as he represents the United States with dignity and courage!"

The nomination of Rubio, a congressman with Cuban heritage, would cap a remarkable turnaround in his relations with Trump.

In 2016, when they were competing for the Republican presidential nomination, Rubio called Trump a "con artist" and the "most vulgar person to ever aspire to the presidency."

Trump belittled him as "Little Marco" and mocked him for sweating and wearing heavy makeup during TV appearances.

Rubio first made his name in foreign policy as a vociferous opponent of Cuba and its leftist allies in Latin America, particularly Venezuela.

He has since become one of the most outspoken senators agitating for conflict with China. He has sought to make it more difficult for Chinese companies to operate in the US and has led congressional efforts to punish Beijing on human rights grounds over its treatment of the Uyghur minority.

After Trump spoke during his campaign about Taiwan needing to pay "protection" money to Washington, Rubio spoke out in favor of the self-governing democracy and predicted that a second Trump administration would support its defense against China.

Trump is also widely reported to be on the verge of naming Florida Representative and anti-China agitator Michael Waltz for the crucial national security advisor post in the White House.