Tom Cotton likely to succeed Marco Rubio in top Intelligence Committee post

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Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton is expected to become the next chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence after President-elect Donald Trump appoints current Vice Chairman Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., to the role of secretary of state in his new administration. 

The Arkansas Republican and outspoken critic of both China and Iran is next in line after Rubio to lead the committee, a source familiar confirmed to Fox News Digital. 

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Sen. Tom Cotton is running for Senate GOP Conference chair. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

However, the final decision on committee leadership will be made by the Republican leader. 

Cotton’s office declined to comment to Fox News Digital. 

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Sen. Marco Rubio is expected to be tapped as secretary of state. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

A source familiar told Fox News Digital on Monday night that Rubio would be tapped by Trump for the coveted State Department role. However, they noted that the president-elect could still change his mind and go in a different direction. 

The current Intel chair is Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., who will be expected to become vice chair in the new Congress when Republicans have the majority. 

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Sen. Mark Warner is chairman of the Intelligence Committee. (Reuters)

Cotton notably pulled his name from cabinet consideration last week, as Axios first reported. 

The senator, who many had seen as a frontrunner for a top cabinet position in the next Trump administration, told the Trump transition team and fellow lawmakers that he asked for his name to be pulled from consideration, a source close to the Arkansas Republican told Fox 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 Republican leadership position, which he feels “confident” in locking down. 

The source said Trump understands Cotton’s decision and knows “he is with him all the way in the Senate.”