Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (Ill.) on Monday announced that he will vote for Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) to become the next secretary of State, a sign that Rubio is on a path to be confirmed on President-elect Trump’s first day of office with overwhelming support.

“I believe Senator Rubio has a thorough understanding of the United States’ role on an international scale, has served with honor on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and is a good choice to lead the State Department. I plan to vote yes on his nomination when it comes before the Senate,” Durbin said in a statement.

Durbin noted that he and Rubio “share many similar views on foreign policy” and have “worked closely together” to advance human rights around the world, counter the threat posed by China and respond to the “sham election” in Venezuela.

“We also jointly called for the release of Uyghur political prisoner Gulshan Abbas and accountability for the death of Cuban democracy activist Oswaldo Payá,” he said.

Durbin said he reiterated to Rubio the need to support Ukraine and strengthen the NATO alliance, and he raised concerns about Russian aggression toward the Baltic states and other European countries.

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (N.H.), the top-ranking Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, predicted that Rubio would likely get a strong bipartisan vote next week.

And she said Rubio could come to the floor quickly, possibly even on Trump’s first day in office.

“We’re done this before,” she said, noting that the Senate quickly confirmed then-Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) when former President Obama nominated her to serve as secretary of State.

“There’s precedent to suggest we want to be cooperative,” she added.  

Asked if Rubio would get a lot of votes, she replied: “I would think.”