Former U.S. senator from Florida Marco Rubio jumps into new role as secretary of state with flurry of phone calls, planned trip to Panama.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino Sunday amid his first overseas trip, as the Trump administration makes a push for control of the Panama Canal.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is on his first foreign trip in office, arriving in Central America on Saturday to press President Donald Trump's top priority — curbing illegal immigration — and to bring the message that the U.