[12] 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 falsehoods.

[5] 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.

[40][41] 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.

[30] 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".

[30] 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.

[42][43] Additionally, an office in the executive branch compiled a longer list of spending requests by legislators, including Rubio,[44] as did the non-profit group Florida TaxWatch.

[49] 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.

[30] As the 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.

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.

[85][86] On May 5, 2009, Rubio stated his intent to run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Mel Martínez, who had decided not to seek reelection and subsequently resigned before completing his term.

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.

[121] 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.

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.

[128] Rubio proposed a plan providing a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants living in the U.S., involving payment of fines and back taxes, background checks, and a probationary period; that pathway was to be implemented only after strengthening border security.

[133] 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.

[134] 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.

[138] As this new period of Republican control began, Rubio pushed for the 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).

[145] During his Senate tenure, Rubio has co-sponsored bills on issues ranging from humanitarian crises in Haiti to the Russian incursion into Ukraine,[146] and was a frequent and prominent critic of Obama's efforts in national security.

[161][162] On July 13, 2020, the Chinese government sanctioned Rubio and three other U.S. politicians for "interfering in China's internal affairs" by condemning human rights abuses in Xinjiang.

"As we deploy legislative solutions to tackle this challenge, Democrats must not allow our corporate and financial sectors' leftward shift on social issues to blind them to the enormity of China as a geo-economic threat.

[198] 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.

[216] 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".

During the hearing, he called China "the most potent and dangerous near-peer adversary this nation has ever faced" and said the Chinese Communist Party had "lied, cheated, hacked, and stolen their way to global superpower status at our expense".

[243] In February 2025, Rubio met with El Salvador President Nayib Bukele and reached an agreement for the country to take in deported foreign nationals who committed crimes, in addition to jailed U.S. citizens and permanent residents.

[255][256] Rubio's stance on military, foreign policy, and national security issues – such as his support for arming the Syrian rebels and for the NSA – alienated some libertarian Tea Party activists.

He supports expanding public charter schools, opposes Common Core State Standards, and advocates closing the federal Department of Education.

[283][284][285][286] On August 28, 2018, Rubio and 16 other members of Congress urged the U.S. to impose sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Act against Chinese officials responsible for human rights abuses against the Uyghur Muslim minority in Xinjiang.

[289] In 2022, he introduced the Chinese Communist Party Visa Ban Act, which would effectively prohibit any member of the CCP from visiting the United States.

At a February 2018 CNN town hall event in the wake of the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, Rubio defended his record of accepting contributions from the National Rifle Association (NRA), saying, "The influence of these groups comes not from money.

[307] In November 2024, he called Ukrainians "incredibly brave and strong", but said the war in Ukraine had reached a "stalemate" and "needs to be brought to a conclusion" to avoid further casualties.