TAMPA, Fla. — Now that the election is over, President-elect Donald Trump is starting to assemble his cabinet.
On Wednesday, he picked Florida Sen. Marco Rubio as secretary of state. Some Florida politicians have already expressed their congratulations.
Sen. Rick Scott posted on X that he is "thrilled for my friend, Florida colleague and our next secretary of state." South Florida Congressman Carlos Gimenez also made a post on Instagram and said "Trump has made a truly historic and brilliant choice."
Trump also reportedly considered Rubio as his running mate in the election before choosing J.D. Vance. Rubio is in his third term as a senator and would leave his seat vacant if he was tapped to be the secretary of state, which would lead to Gov. Ron DeSantis filling his position.
Rubio and Trump were once bitter rivals in the 2016 presidential race and attacked each other repeatedly, but now Rubio could be one of the President-elect's closest advisers. Here's where he stands on key issues:
Abortion
Rubio has previously said he would favor a complete ban on abortion, but the issue should be primarily dealt with by the states. He said he believes in exceptions to a ban.
In a 2022 interview with CBS Miami, he said “I am in favor of laws that protect human life. I do not believe that the dignity and the worth of human life is tied to the circumstances of their conception, but I recognize that’s not a majority position.”
On his website, he says "pro-family policy" is the answer. He said to be pro-life, the government must expand care available to mothers and children. He says to do this there should be expansion of the federal child tax credit.
He also wrote that mothers should have access to adequate healthcare by funding crisis pregnancy centers and supporting motherhood mentoring initiatives.
When the Supreme Court released its decision that ended Roe v. Wade, Rubio wrote, "This end is long overdue. Abortion violates the most fundamental human right — the right to life — and requiring its legalization was never constitutional."
Immigration
Rubio, who is the son of Cuban immigrants, has led attempts to update immigration law but also has expressed support for Trump's plans for mass deportations.
"You think that you’re going to allow a flood of people into America, and something bad is not going to happen? Sadly, it is. It’s just a matter of time," he said on the Senate floor in a speech in February.
In 2013, he was part of the "Gang of Eight," which was a bipartisan group of senators who proposed immigration reform such as increased border security and a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. However, he also supported strict policies that align with the Republican party platforms.
In June, Rubio defended Trump's comments on immigrants in an interview with Telemundo. Trump said immigrants are "poisoning the blood of our country." Rubio said the former president's comments had "nothing to do with race."
"The country is threatened by this influx of people, which we now know even includes criminals and terrorists," Rubio said in the interview.
Health care
Rubio has been a vocal critic of the Affordable Care Act and supported efforts to repeal and replace it. In a 2015 op-ed for Politico, Rubio said if he was president, he would "utilize modern, consumer-centered reforms that lower costs, embrace innovation in healthcare and actually increase choices and improve quality of care."
Rubio said he would create an advanceable, refundable tax credit for Americans to purchase health insurance. He wrote that he would reform insurance regulations and place Medicare and Medicaid on "fiscally-sustainable paths."
The Affordable Care Act was enacted in 2010 and expanded insurance coverage. Trump recently said he would not terminate it if he becomes president, rather he would make it "better" and less expensive. In November, he wrote on his Truth Social site that he was "looking at alternatives" to the act, however he has not released a detailed healthcare proposal.
Social Security
On his website, Rubio said he plans to enable parents to use Social Security benefits for paid family leave. He said Social Security and Medicare programs need changes because they are bound to go bankrupt.
He said people 50 years and younger are likely going to have to retire later as one of the changes. He said he favors raising the retirement age for middle-aged people but not for current retirees or those who will retire soon.
In a 2015 op-ed, he also called for reducing growth in benefits for wealthy seniors and making the program stronger for lower-income seniors. He also wrote that the government needs to encourage people to save more for retirement with assets such as IRAs, mutual funds and personal savings accounts.
Crime
Rubio has promoted a tough-on-crime approach and has supported various legislation backing tougher penalties for violent offenders.
He recently urged the Biden administration to crack down on a Venezuelan gang that he says is a "vicious gang" who established themselves in Venezuela prisons but have made it into America.
"But, the bottom line is that all this becomes endemic in our national security, because ultimately, whatever happens in the region, it finds itself here. It finds itself here in our banking system. It finds itself here in our streets, both in the presence of drugs and these criminal organizations that migrate towards here," he said at a Senate meeting.
He also has supported more police funding for additional resources so "violent criminals remain behind bars."
In terms of gun control, Rubio said "The issue is not the firearm, it's the lunatic," in response to a deadly school shooting in Texas in 2022. He said mass shootings are committed by "deranged individuals and gun control legislation will not necessarily stop them."
In a plan to address gun violence after the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, he said Congress has to work to prevent gun violence before it happens. The government can do this, he says, by strengthening school security and improving background checks for gun purchases, among other initiatives.
