Marco Rubio

In late 1999, a special election was called to fill the seat for the 111th House District in the Florida House of Representatives, representing Miami. The seat had been held by Representative Carlos Valdes, who had run for and won an open Florida State Senate seat.[30] It was considered a safe Republican seat, so Rubio's main challenge was to win the GOP nomination. He campaigned as a moderate, advocating tax cuts and early childhood education.[29]

Rubio placed second in the Republican primary on December 14, 1999,[31] but won the run-off election for the Republican nomination, defeating Angel Zayon (a television and radio reporter who was popular with Cuban exiles) by just 64 votes.[29][32] He then defeated Democrat Anastasia Garcia with 72% of the vote in a January 25, 2000 special election.[33]

In November 2000, Rubio won re-election unopposed.[34] In 2002, he won re-election to a second full term unopposed.[35] In 2004, he won re-election to a third full term with 66% of the vote.[36] In 2006, he won re-election to a fourth full term unopposed.[37]

Rubio spent almost nine years in the Florida House of Representatives. Since the Florida legislative session officially lasted only 60 days, he was able to spend about half of each year in Miami, where he worked first at a law firm that specialized in land use and zoning, and later starting in 2004, took a position with Broad and Cassel, a Miami law and lobbying firm, though state law precluded him from engaging in lobbying or introducing legislation on behalf of the firm's clients.[29][38]

Rubio's official portrait as a State Representative

At the time Rubio took his seat in the legislature in Tallahassee in January 2000, voters in Florida had recently approved a constitutional amendment on term limits. This created openings for new legislative leaders due to many senior incumbents having to retire. According to an article in National Journal, Rubio also gained an extra advantage in that regard, because he was sworn in early due to the special election, and he would take advantage of these opportunities to join the GOP leadership.[29]

Later in 2000, the majority leader of the House, Mike Fasano, promoted Rubio to be one of two majority whips.[29] National Journal described that position as typically requiring a lot of arm-twisting, but said Rubio took a different approach that relied more on persuading legislators and less on coercing them.[29]

Fasano resigned in September 2001 as majority leader of the House due to disagreements with the House speaker, and the speaker passed over Rubio to appoint a more experienced replacement for Fasano. Rubio volunteered to work on redistricting, which he accomplished by dividing the state into five regions, then working individually with the lawmakers involved, and this work helped to cement his relationships with GOP leaders.[29]

In December 2002, Rubio was appointed House majority leader by Speaker Johnnie Byrd.[39][40] He persuaded Speaker Byrd to restructure the job of majority leader, so that legislative wrangling would be left to the whip's office, and Rubio would become the main spokesperson for the House GOP.[29]

According to National Journal, during this period Rubio did not entirely adhere to doctrinaire conservative principles, and some colleagues described him as a centrist "who sought out Democrats and groups that don’t typically align with the GOP".[29] He co-sponsored legislation that would have let farm workers sue growers in state court if they were shortchanged on pay, and co-sponsored a bill for giving in-state tuition rates to the children of undocumented immigrants.[29] In the wake of the September 11 attacks, he voiced suspicion about expanding police detention powers, and helped defeat a GOP bill that would have required colleges to increase reporting to the state about foreign students.[29]

As a state representative, Rubio requested legislative earmarks (called "Community Budget Issue Requests" in Florida), totaling about $145 million for 2001 and 2002, but none thereafter.[41][42] Additionally, an office in the executive branch compiled a longer list of spending requests by legislators, including Rubio,[43] as did the non-profit group Florida TaxWatch.[44] Many of those listed items were for health and social programs that Rubio has described as "the kind of thing that legislators would get attacked on if we didn't fund them."[44] A 2010 report by the Tampa Bay Times and Miami Herald said that some of Rubio's spending requests dovetailed with his personal interests.[43] For example, Rubio requested a $20 million appropriation for Jackson Memorial Hospital to subsidize care for the poor and uninsured,[44] and Rubio later did work for that hospital as a consultant.[43] A spokesman for Rubio has said that the items in question helped the whole county, that Rubio did not lobby to get them approved, that the hospital money was necessary and non-controversial, and that Rubio is "a limited-government conservative ... not a no-government conservative".[43]

On September 13, 2005, at age 34,[45] Rubio became speaker after State Representatives Dennis Baxley, Jeff Kottkamp, and Dennis A. Ross dropped out. He was sworn in a year later, in November 2006. He became the first Cuban American to be speaker of the Florida House of Representatives, and would remain speaker until November 2008.[46]

Then Speaker-Designate Rubio, challenging House colleagues to help write "100 Innovative Ideas For Florida's Future", September 2005

When he was chosen as future speaker in 2005, Rubio delivered a speech to the House in which he asked members to look in their desks, where they each found a hardcover book titled 100 Innovative Ideas For Florida’s Future; but the book was blank because it had not yet been written, and Rubio told his colleagues that they would fill in the pages together with the help of ordinary Floridians.[29] In 2006, after traveling around the state and talking with citizens, and compiling their ideas, Rubio published the book.[47][48] The National Journal called this book "the centerpiece of Rubio’s early speakership".[29] About 24 of the "ideas" became law, while another 10 were partially enacted.[48] Among the items from his 2006 book that became law were multiple-year car registrations, a requirement that high schools provide more vocational courses, and an expanded voucher-like school-choice program. Rubio's defenders, and some critics, point out that nationwide economic difficulties overlapped with much of Rubio's speakership, and so funding new legislative proposals became difficult.[29]

As Rubio took office as speaker, Jeb Bush was completing his term as governor, and Bush left office in January 2007. Rubio hired 18 Bush aides, leading capitol insiders to say the speaker's suite was "the governor’s office in exile." An article in National Journal described Rubio's style as being very different from Bush's; where Bush was a very assertive manager of affairs in Tallahassee, Rubio's style was to delegate certain powers, relinquish others, and invite political rivals into his inner circle.[29] As incoming speaker, he decided to open a private dining room for legislators, which he said would give members more privacy, free from being pursued by lobbyists, though the expense led to a public relations problem.[29]

Rubio as Chairman of the House Select Committee on Private Property Rights, October 2005

In 2006, Florida enacted into law limitations upon the authority of the state government to take private property, in response to the 2005 Supreme Court decision in Kelo v. City of New London which took a broad view of governmental power to take private property under eminent domain. This state legislation had been proposed by a special committee chaired by Rubio prior to his speakership.[49]

Jeb Bush was succeeded by Charlie Crist, a moderate Republican who took office in January 2007. Rubio and Crist clashed frequently. Their sharpest clash involved the governor's initiative to expand casino gambling in Florida. Rubio sued Crist for bypassing the Florida Legislature in order to make a deal with the Seminole Tribe. The Florida Supreme Court sided with Rubio and blocked the deal.[50][51]

Rubio also was a critic of Crist's strategy to fight climate change through an executive order creating new automobile and utility emissions standards. Rubio accused Crist of imposing "European-style big government mandates," and the legislature under Rubio's leadership weakened the impact of Crist's climate change initiative.[29][51] Rubio said that Crist's approach would harm consumers by driving up utility bills without having much effect upon the environment, and that a better approach would be to promote biofuel (e.g. ethanol), solar panels, and energy efficiency.[52][53][54]

Rubio introduced a plan to reduce state property taxes to 2001 levels (and potentially eliminate them altogether), while increasing sales taxes by 1% to 2.5% to fund schools. The proposal would have reduced property taxes in the state by $40–50 billion. His proposal passed the House, but was opposed by Governor Crist and Florida Senate Republicans, who said that the increase in sales tax would disproportionately affect the poor. So, Rubio agreed to smaller changes, and Crist's proposal to double the state's property tax exemption from $25,000 to $50,000 (for a tax reduction estimated by Crist to be $33 billion) ultimately passed.[29][49][55] Legislators called it the largest tax cut in Florida's history up until then.[49][56] At the time, Republican anti-tax activist Grover Norquist described Rubio as "the most pro-taxpayer legislative leader in the country."[55]

Rubio conferring with Democratic leader Dan Gelber in 2007

As speaker, Rubio "aggressively tried to push Florida to the political right," according to NBC News, and frequently clashed with the Florida Senate, which was run by more moderate Republicans, and with then-Governor Charlie Crist, a centrist Republican at the time.[51] Although a conservative, "behind the scenes many Democrats considered Rubio someone with whom they could work," according to biographer Manuel Roig-Franzia.[57] Dan Gelber of Miami, the House Democratic leader at the time of Rubio's speakership, considered him "a true conservative" but not "a reflexive partisan," saying: "He didn't have an objection to working with the other side simply because they were the other side. To put it bluntly, he wasn't a jerk."[58] Gelber considered Rubio "a severe conservative, really far to the right, but probably the most talented spokesman the severe right could ever hope for."[51]

While speaker of the Florida House, Rubio shared a residence in Tallahassee with another Florida State Representative, David Rivera, which the two co-owned. The house later went into foreclosure in 2010 after several missed mortgage payments.[59] At that point, Rubio assumed responsibility for the payments, and the house was eventually sold.[60][61]

House Speaker Rubio and Senate President Ken Pruitt embrace after the House's unanimous approval of the Senate's resolution to formally express deep regret for slavery. March 2008

In 2007, Florida state senator Tony Hill (D-Jacksonville), chairman of the state legislature's Black Caucus, requested that the legislature apologize for slavery, and Rubio said the idea merited discussion.[62] The following year, a supportive Rubio said such apologies can be important albeit symbolic; he pointed out that even in 2008 young African-American males "believe that the American dream is not available to them".[63][64] He helped set up a council on issues facing black men and boys, persuaded colleagues to replicate the Harlem Children's Zone in the Miami neighborhood of Liberty City, and supported efforts to promote literacy and mentoring for black children and others.[65][66][67][68]

In 2010 during Rubio's Senate campaign, and again in 2015 during his presidential campaign, issues were raised by the media and his political opponents about some items charged by Rubio to his Republican Party of Florida American Express card during his time as House speaker.[69][70][71] Rubio charged about $110,000 during those two years, of which $16,000 was personal expenses unrelated to party business, such as groceries and plane tickets.[72] Rubio said that he personally paid American Express more than $16,000 for these personal expenses.[73][74] In 2012, the Florida Commission on Ethics cleared Rubio of wrongdoing in his use of the party-issued credit card, although the commission inspector said that Rubio exhibited a "level of negligence" in not using his personal MasterCard.[75][76] In November 2015, Rubio released his party credit card statements for January 2005 through October 2006, which showed eight personal charges totaling $7,243.74, all of which he had personally reimbursed, in most instances by the next billing period.[71][72][77] When releasing the charge records, Rubio spokesman Todd Harris said, "These statements are more than 10 years old. And the only people who ask about them today are the liberal media and our political opponents. We are releasing them now because Marco has nothing to hide."[71]

On May 5, 2009, Rubio announced on his website that he planned to run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Mel Martínez, who had announced that he would not seek reelection. Martinez subsequently announced (in August 2009) that he would resign before completing his term, and upon his resignation was replaced by George LeMieux. Prior to making his May 5, 2009 announcement, Rubio had been meeting with fundraisers and supporters throughout the state.[86] Initially trailing by double digits in the primary against the incumbent governor of his own party, Charlie Crist, Rubio eventually surpassed Crist in polling for the Republican nomination.[87][88] In his campaign, Rubio received the support of members of the Tea Party, many of whom were dissatisfied with Crist's policies as governor.[89]

On April 28, 2010, Crist announced he would be running without a party affiliation, effectively ceding the Republican nomination to Rubio.[90][91][92]

Several of Crist's top fundraisers, as well as Republican leadership, refused to support Crist after Rubio won the Republican nomination for the Senate.[93][94][95]

On November 2, 2010, Rubio won the general election with 49 percent of the vote to Crist's 30% and Democrat Kendrick Meek's 20%.[96] Following his victory in the elections, Rubio soon became the subject of speculation as a potential Republican candidate for the 2012 presidential election.[97][98] When Rubio was sworn in to the U.S. Senate, he and Bob Menendez of New Jersey were the only two Latino Americans in the Senate.

On June 13, 2016, despite his previous statements that he would not run for reelection to his Senate seat, Rubio "seemed to open the door to running for re-election," citing the previous day's Orlando nightclub shooting and how "it really gives you pause, to think a little bit about your service to your country and where you can be most useful to your country,"[99] officially announcing his candidacy nine days later, on June 22.[100] Rubio won the Republican primary on August 30, 2016, defeating Carlos Beruff.[101] He faced Democratic nominee Patrick Murphy in the general election, defeating him with 52% of the vote.[102]

During Rubio's first four years in the U.S. Senate, Republicans were in the minority. After the 2014 midterm elections, the Republicans obtained majority control of the Senate, giving Rubio and the Republicans vast federal influence during the final two years of Barack Obama's presidency, as well as during all four years of Donald Trump's presidency. After the 2020 elections, the Democrats regained majority control of the Senate, and Rubio has reassumed minority status within the Senate.

At Camp Leatherneck, Afghanistan with Floridians, January 2011

Visiting Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in May 2012

Shortly after taking office in 2011, Rubio said he had no interest in running for president or vice president in the 2012 presidential election.[103] In March 2012, when he endorsed Mitt Romney for president, Rubio said that he did not expect to be or want to be selected as a vice presidential running mate,[104] but was vetted for vice president by the Romney campaign.[104] Former Romney aide Beth Myers has said that the vetting process turned up nothing disqualifying about Rubio.[105]

Upon taking office, Rubio hired Cesar Conda as his chief of staff.[106][107][108] Conda, a former adviser to Vice President Dick Cheney, and former top aide to Sens. Spencer Abraham (R-Mich.) and Robert Kasten (R-Wis.), was succeeded in 2014 as Rubio's chief of staff by his deputy, Alberto Martinez, but Conda remained as a part-time adviser.[109]

During his first year in office, Rubio became an influential defender of the United States embargo against Cuba, and induced the State Department to withdraw an ambassadorial nomination of Jonathan D. Farrar, who was the Chief of Mission of the United States Interests Section in Havana from 2008 to 2011. Rubio believed that Farrar was not assertive enough toward the Castro regime.[110] Also in 2011, Rubio was invited to visit the Reagan Library, during which he gave a well-publicized speech praising its namesake, and also rescued Nancy Reagan from falling.[111][112]

Meeting in February 2013 with Israeli President Shimon Peres during trip to Jordan and Israel.

In March 2011, Rubio supported U.S. participation in the military campaign in Libya to oust Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.[113] He urged that Senate leaders bring "a bi-partisan resolution to the Senate floor authorizing the president's decision to participate in allied military action in Libya".[114] The administration decided that no congressional authorization was needed under the War Powers Resolution; Senator Joe Lieberman (I-CT) joined Rubio in writing an opinion piece for the Wall Street Journal in June 2011 again urging passage of such authorization.[115] In October 2011, Rubio joined several other senators in pushing for continued engagement to "help Libya lay the foundation for sustainable security."[116] Soon after Gadhafi was ousted, Rubio warned there was a serious threat posed by the spread of militias and weapons, and called for more U.S. involvement to counter that threat.[113]

In October 2011, The Washington Post reported that Rubio's previous statements that his parents were forced to leave Cuba in 1959 (after Fidel Castro came to power) were embellishments.[4] His parents actually left Cuba in 1956, during the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista.[4] According to the Post, "[in] Florida, being connected to the post-revolution exile community gives a politician cachet that could never be achieved by someone identified with the pre-Castro exodus, a group sometimes viewed with suspicion".[4] Rubio denied that he had embellished his family history, stating that his public statements about his family were based on "family lore".[4] Rubio asserted that his parents intended to return to Cuba in the 1960s.[4] He added that his mother took his two elder siblings back to Cuba in 1961 with the intention of living there permanently (his father remained behind in Miami "wrapping up the family's matters"); however, the nation's move toward Communism caused the family to change its plans.[4] Rubio stated that "[the] essence of my family story is why they came to America in the first place; and why they had to stay."[14]

Rubio voted against the Budget Control Act of 2011, which included mandatory automatic budget cuts from sequestration.[117][118] He later said that defense spending should never have been linked to taxes and the deficit, calling the policy a "terrible idea" based on a "false choice."[117]

The following month, Rubio and Senator Chris Coons, Democrat of Delaware, co-sponsored the American Growth, Recovery, Empowerment and Entrepreneurship Act (AGREE Act), which would have extended many tax credits and exemptions for businesses investing in research and development, equipment, and other capital; provided a tax credit for veterans who start a business franchise; allowed an increase in immigration for certain types of work visas; and strengthened copyright protections.[119][120][121][122]

Rubio voted against the 2012 "fiscal cliff" resolutions. Although he received some criticism for this position, he responded: "Thousands of small businesses, not just the wealthy, will now be forced to decide how they'll pay this new tax, and, chances are, they'll do it by firing employees, cutting back their hours and benefits, or postponing the new hires they were looking to make. And to make matters worse, it does nothing to bring our dangerous debt under control."[123]

Touring the US-Mexican border in November 2011 with Border Patrol officials

In 2013, Rubio was part of the bipartisan "Gang of Eight" senators that crafted comprehensive immigration reform legislation.[124] Rubio proposed a plan providing a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants currently living in the United States involving payment of fines and back taxes, background checks, and a probationary period; that pathway was to be implemented only after strengthening border security.[125][126] The bill passed the Senate 68 to 32 with his support, but Rubio then signaled that the bill should not be taken up by the House because other priorities, like repealing Obamacare, were a higher priority for him; the House never did take up the bill. Rubio has since explained that he still supports reform, but a different approach instead of a single comprehensive bill.[127]

About to give response to the State of the Union address in February 2013

Rubio was chosen to deliver the Republican response to President Obama's 2013 State of the Union Address.[128] It marked the first time the response was delivered in English and Spanish.[129] Rubio's attempt to draw a strong line against the looming defense sequestration was undercut by fellow Republican senator Rand Paul's additional response to Obama's speech that called for the sequester to be carried out.[130]

In April 2013, Rubio voted against an expansion of background checks for gun purchases, contending that such increased regulatory measures would do little to help capture criminals.[131][132] Rubio voted against publishing the Senate Intelligence Committee report on CIA torture. In 2015 he spoke out in favor of torturing suspects.[133]

Rubio in November 2015

Republicans took control of the U.S. Senate as a result of the elections in November 2014.[134] As this new period of Republican control began, Rubio pushed for elimination of the "risk corridors" used by the federal government to compensate insurers for their losses as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). The risk corridors were intended to be funded by profitable insurers participating in the PPACA. However, since insurer losses have significantly exceeded their profits in the program, the risk corridors have been depleted. His efforts contributed to the inclusion of a provision in the 2014 federal budget which prevented other funding sources from being tapped to replenish the risk corridors.[135]

In March 2015, Rubio and Senator Mike Lee, Republican of Utah, proposed a tax plan which, according to The Wall Street Journal, combined thinking from "old-fashioned, Reagan-era supply siders" and a "breed of largely younger conservative reform thinkers" who are concerned with the tax burden on the middle-class. The plan would lower the top corporate income tax rate from 38% to 25%, eliminate taxes on capital gains, dividends and inherited estates, and create a new child tax credit worth up to $2,500 per child. The plan would set the top individual income tax rate at 35%. It also included a proposal to replace the means-tested welfare system, including food stamps and the Earned Income Tax Credit, with a new "consolidated system of benefits".[136]

According to analysis by Vocativ as reported by Fox News, Rubio has missed 8.3 percent of total votes since taking office, from January 2011 to February 2015.[137] From October 27, 2014, to October 26, 2015, Rubio voted in 74 percent of Senate votes, according to an analysis by GovTrack.us, which tracks Congressional voting records.[138][139] In 2015, Rubio was absent for about 35 percent of Senate votes.[138][140] In historical context Rubio's attendance record for Senate votes is not exceptional among senators seeking a presidential nomination, such as Senator John McCain whose percentage of missed votes in 2007 was much higher. However it is the worst of the three senators who campaigned for the presidency in 2015.[141]

During his Senate tenure, Rubio has co-sponsored bills on issues ranging from humanitarian crises in Haiti to the Russian incursion into Ukraine,[142] and has been a frequent and prominent critic of President Obama's efforts in the field of national security.[142]

On May 17, 2016, Rubio broke from the Republican majority in his support of President Obama's request for a $2 billion funding for emergency spending toward the Zika virus at a time when Florida accounted for roughly 20% of the recorded cases of Zika in the U.S., acknowledging that it was the president's request but furthering that "it’s really the scientists’ requests, the doctors’ request, the public health sector's request for how to address this issue."[143] On August 6, Rubio stated he does not believe in terminating Zika-infected pregnancies.[144]

On December 13, after President-elect Trump announced Rex Tillerson as his pick for Secretary of State in the incoming administration, Rubio expressed concerns with the selection.[145] On January 11, Rubio questioned Tillerson during a senate committee hearing on his confirmation, saying afterward he would "do what's right".[146] On January 23, Rubio confirmed that he would vote for Tillerson, stating that a delay in the appointment would be counter to national interests.[147]

On April 5, 2017, Rubio said Bashar al-Assad felt he could act with "impunity" in knowing the United States was not prioritizing removing him from office.[148] The following day, Rubio praised Trump's ordered strike: "By acting decisively against the very facility from which Assad launched his murderous chemical weapons attack, President Trump has made it clear to Assad and those who empower him that the days of committing war crimes with impunity are over."[149]

President Trump meeting with FEMA Administrator Brock Long and Senator Rubio in September 2017

In September 2017, after President Trump rescinded the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program for six months, Rubio called for an outline on "what kind of legislation the president is willing to sign" to prevent unwanted proposals.[150]

In the first session of the 115th United States Congress, Rubio was ranked the tenth most bipartisan Senator by the Bipartisan Index, published by The Lugar Center and Georgetown's McCourt School of Public Policy.[151]

While ballots were being counted in a close Florida Senate race between Democratic incumbent Bill Nelson and Republican challenger Rick Scott, Rubio without evidence argued that Democrats were conspiring with election officials to illicitly install Nelson into the U.S. Senate.[152][153][154] Rubio argued without evidence that "democrat lawyers" were descending on Florida and that "they have been very clear they aren’t here to make sure every vote is counted."[152] He claimed that Broward County officials were engaged in "ongoing" legal violations, without specifying what those were.[152] Election monitors found no evidence of voter fraud in Broward County, and the Florida State Department found no evidence of criminal activity.[154]

In 2019, Rubio defended Trump's decision to host the G7 conference at the Trump National Doral Miami, a resort that Trump himself owns. Rubio described the decision as "great", and said it would be good for local businesses.[155][156]

In 2020, Rubio supported the nomination of Judy Shelton to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. Shelton had received bipartisan criticism over her support for the gold standard and other unorthodox monetary policy views.[157][158]

Beginning with his time as a Dublin, California city councilor, Eric Swalwell was targeted by a Chinese woman believed to be a clandestine officer of China's Ministry of State Security.[159] Swalwell's general relationship with a suspected Chinese agent, Christine Fang, has been characterized as problematic, particularly given the high-profile role that he occupied – a member of the House Intelligence Committee – within the intelligence community.[160] Marco Rubio said he intended to hold a Senate Intelligence public hearing on Fang's case if his party was to win the special Georgia runoff election.[160]

Rubio described the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol as not patriotic and being "3rd world style anti-American anarchy."[161] Regarding the rioters, Rubio said, "Some of them unfortunately were adherence [sic] to a conspiracy theory and others got caught up in the moment. The result was a national embarrassment." After Congress was allowed to return to session, Rubio voted to certify the 2021 United States Electoral College vote count.[162]

In the U.S. Senate, he chairs the Commerce Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard, as well as the Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Transnational Crime, Civilian Security, Democracy, Human Rights and Global Women's Issues. His committee memberships are as follows.[163][164]

• Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation[163]
  • Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security
  • Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet
  • Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard (chair)
  • Subcommittee on Science and Space
• Committee on Foreign Relations[164]
  • Subcommittee on East Asia, The Pacific, and International Cybersecurity Policy
  • Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health Policy
  • Subcommittee on Near East, South and Central Asia, and Counterterrorism
  • Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Transnational Crime, Civilian Security, Democracy, Human Rights, and Global Women's Issues (chair)
• Select Committee on Intelligence (Acting Chairman)[165]
• Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship (Chairman)

• Senate Republican Conference

In the first Republican primary, the February 1 Iowa caucuses, Rubio finished third, behind candidates Ted Cruz and Donald Trump.[180] During a nationally televised debate among Republican candidates in New Hampshire on February 6, 2016, Rubio was criticized by rival Chris Christie for speaking repetitiously and sounding scripted. On February 9, when he placed fifth in the New Hampshire primary results, Rubio took the blame and acknowledged a poor debate performance.[181] In the third Republican contest, the South Carolina primary on February 20, Rubio finished second, but did not gain any delegates as Trump won all of South Carolina's congressional districts and thus delegates.[182][183] Jeb Bush left the race that day, leading to a surge in campaign donations and endorsements to Rubio. On February 23, Rubio finished second in the Nevada caucuses, again losing to Trump.[184] Trump called Rubio's remarks at the February 25 debate "robotic" due to Rubio's repeated use of the same talking points; Rubio was later followed by hecklers who were dressed "Rubio robots."[185]

At another Republican debate on February 25, Rubio repeatedly criticized frontrunner candidate Donald Trump.[186] It was described by CNN as a "turning point in style" as Rubio had previously largely ignored Trump during his campaign, and this deviated from Rubio's signature "optimistic campaign message". The next day Rubio continued turning Trump's attacks against him,[187] even ridiculing Trump's physical appearance.[188] On March 1, called 'Super Tuesday' with eleven Republican contests on that day, Rubio's sole victory was in Minnesota, the first state he had won since voting began a month prior.[183] Rubio went on to win further contests in Puerto Rico on March 6 and the District of Columbia on March 12, but lost eight other contests from March 5 to 8.[183] Around that time, Rubio revealed he was not "entirely proud" of his personal attacks on Trump.[189]

On March 15, Rubio suspended his campaign after placing second in his own home state of Florida.[188] Hours earlier, Rubio had expressed expectations for a Florida win, and said he would continue to campaign (in Utah) "irrespective of" that night's results.[190] The result was that Rubio won 27.0% of the Florida vote, while Trump won 45.7% and all of Florida's delegates.[191] The conclusion of the six March 15 contests (out of which Rubio won none) left Rubio with 169 delegates on the race to reach 1237, but Ted Cruz already had 411 and Trump 673.[183][192] On March 17, Rubio ruled out runs for the vice-presidency, governorship of Florida and even re-election for his senate seat. He only stated that he would be a "private citizen" by January 2017, leading to some media speculation of the termination of his political career.[193]

Rubio with Taiwan's president Tsai Ing-wen in June 2016

On April 12, during an interview with Mark Levin, Rubio expressed his wishes that Republicans would nominate a conservative candidate, name-dropping Cruz.[194] This was interpreted as an endorsement of Cruz, though Rubio clarified the following day that he had only been answering a question.[195] Rubio would later explain his decision to not endorse Cruz being due to his belief that the endorsement would not significantly benefit him and a desire to let the election cycle play out.[196] On April 22, Rubio said he was not interested in being the vice presidential candidate to any of the remaining GOP contenders.[197] On May 16, Rubio posted several tweets in which he critiqued sources reporting that he despised the Senate and a Washington Post story that claimed he was unsure of his next move after his unsuccessful presidential bid, typing, "I have only said like 10000 times I will be a private citizen in January."[198]

Rubio and President Trump visit a fourth grade classroom in Orlando, Florida, March 3, 2017

On May 18, after Trump expressed a willingness to meet with Kim Jong-un, Rubio said Kim was "not a stable person" and furthered that Trump was only open to the meeting due to inexperience with the North Korea leader.[199] On May 26, Rubio told reporters that he was backing Trump due to his view that the presumptive nominee was a better choice than Hillary Clinton for the presidency and that as president, Trump would sign a repeal of the Affordable Care Act and replace the late Antonin Scalia with another conservative Supreme Court Justice.[200] He also confirmed that he would be attending the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, where he intended to release his pledged delegates to support Trump.[201] On May 29, Rubio continued disavowing vice presidential speculation but indicated an interest in playing a role in Trump's campaign.[202] On June 6, Rubio rebuked Trump's comments on Gonzalo P. Curiel, who Trump accused of being biased against him on the basis of his ethnicity, as "offensive" while speaking with reporters, advising that Trump should cease defending the remarks and defending the judge as "an American."[203]

On July 6, Olivia Perez-Cubas, Rubio's Senate campaign spokeswoman, said he would not be attending the Republican National Convention due to planned campaigning on the days the convention was scheduled to take place.[204]

During the Republican primary campaign in which Rubio and Donald Trump were opponents, Rubio criticized Trump,[205] including, in February 2016, calling Trump a "con artist" and saying that Trump is "wholly unprepared to be president of the United States."[206] In June 2016, after Trump became the presumptive GOP nominee, Rubio reaffirmed his February 2016 comments that we must not hand "the nuclear codes of the United States to an erratic individual."[207] However, after Trump won the Republican Party's nomination, Rubio endorsed him on July 20, 2016.[208] Following the October 7, 2016, Donald Trump Access Hollywood controversy, Rubio wrote that "Donald's comments were vulgar, egregious & impossible to justify. No one should ever talk about any woman in those terms, even in private."[209] On October 11, 2016, Rubio reaffirmed his support of Trump.[210] On October 25, 2016, it was reported that Rubio was booed off a stage for endorsing Trump by a crowd of mostly Latino voters, at the annual Calle Orange street festival in downtown Orlando.[211]