FILE - In this May 5, 2020, file photo, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., speaks during a Senate Intelligence Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Photo: AP)

Washington (People's Daily) - US Republican Senator Marco Rubio of Florida will serve as acting chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell announced Monday. 

The move follows the resignation last week of Republican Senator Richard Burr from North Carolina.  

Burr is under investigation for alleged insider trading during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Rubio, for his part, said in a statement that he's grateful to McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, for the confidence in him.

Rubio, 48, was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2010.