Political positions of Marco Rubio
As a presidential candidate, Rubio has argued on behalf of closing the federal Department of Education,[14] expanding public charter schools,[15] and for teaching both creationism and evolution.
"[32] During his 2016 presidential run, Rubio called for ending the crude oil export ban, block the Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Power Plan for reducing carbon emissions, and expand the use of coal, natural gas, and hydraulic fracturing.
[43][1] Rubio is opposed to allowing refugees of the Syrian Civil War to seek refuge in the United States because background checks cannot be performed under present circumstances.
"[53] In addressing his change of posture, at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference in 2015, Rubio stated that his biggest lesson from the failure to enact comprehensive immigration reform was that Americans would not support it until the border is secure.
[54] In March 2019, Rubio was one of twelve Republican senators to vote to block President Trump's national emergency declaration that would have granted him access to $3.6 billion in military construction funding to build border barriers.
[56] Upon arriving in the U.S. in 1962, Pedro Victor Garcia was five feet 6 inches, 120 pounds, with a leg injury, polio, scoliosis and signs of emphysema; pity may have been the factor that swayed immigration officials to let him stay.
[56] Rubio has called for a more active presence of the United States in global affairs and "a robust American role in confronting" Iran, Russia and North Korea.
[64] Weeks after the 2014 Hong Kong class boycott campaign and Umbrella Movement broke out which demands genuine universal suffrage among other goals, Rubio among bipartisan colleagues joined U.S.
[71] 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.
[72] In November 2018, Rubio and a bipartisan group of senators sent a letter to the Trump administration, raising concerns about China’s undue influence over media outlets and academic institutions in the United States.
In the past four years, multiple media outlets with direct or indirect financial ties to the PRC allegedly decided not to publish stories on wealth and corruption in the CCP...Beijing has also sought to use relationships with American academic institutions and student groups to shape public discourse.
Rubio said in a statement, "China continues to conduct a coordinated assault on U.S. intellectual property, U.S. businesses, and our government networks and information with the full backing of the Chinese Communist Part."
"[74] In February 2019, Rubio proposed legislation restricting and taxing Chinese investment in the United States as a means of countering Beijing's "Made in China 2025" (MIC2025) industrial modernization program.
"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.
"[81] He condemned hosting the 2022 Winter Olympics in China, saying "While we pray for the health, safety, and success of all American athletes, we cannot forget that hiding behind the pageantry and fanfare is an evil, genocidal regime.
Until the Chinese Communist Party puts an end to all ethnic cleansing, slave labor practices, and political oppression, I will work to ensure that the Olympics are never hosted in the People’s Republic of China again".
[86] In March 2017, Rubio was one of five senators to introduce legislation expanding sanctions targeting the ballistic missile development of Iran along with support for terrorism, any transfer of weapons, and human rights violations.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker said the sanctions would enable the United States "to regain the initiative on Iran and push back forcefully against this threat to our security and that of our allies.
[101] When addressing concerns about civilian casualties in Gaza on CNN, Rubio replied "I don’t think there’s any way Israel can be expected to coexist or find some diplomatic off-ramp with these savages....
[107][108] In March 2018, Rubio voted to table a resolution spearheaded by Bernie Sanders, Chris Murphy, and Mike Lee that would have required President Trump to withdraw American troops either in or influencing Yemen within the next 30 days unless they were combating Al-Qaeda.
[111] In July 2014, Rubio called for arms to support moderate elements in the Syrian opposition and a bombing campaign to stop ISIL's advance, as well as no-fly zones in Syria to protect civilians from Bashar al-Assad.
[43][1] In December 2018, after President Trump announced the withdrawal of American troops in Syria, Rubio was one of six senators to sign a letter expressing concern for the move and their belief "that such action at this time is a premature and costly mistake that not only threatens the safety and security of the United States, but also emboldens ISIS, Bashar al Assad, Iran, and Russia.
[119] In August 2018, Rubio told reporters, "Every entity in America involved in politics at a high level at this point should expect that they are a target of an influence campaign by Russia, potentially by China", reasoning that this was "a very low-cost way to inflict damage on your opponent … they can all afford to have high-level electronic intrusions that allow them to disseminate false information, drive narratives and cause chaos among us.
[122] In January 2019, Rubio was one of eleven Republican senators to vote to advance legislation intended to block President Trump's intent to lift sanctions against three Russian companies.
[128][129] In March 2019, Rubio was one of four senators to sign a letter to President Trump requesting he grant temporary protected status (TPS) to Venezuelan citizens in the US "in light of the ongoing violence, deteriorating security situation, and humanitarian crisis in Venezuela caused by the illegitimate regime of Maduro.
"[139] Rubio opposed the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court based on "her case history and testimony regarding the Second Amendment at the state level, eminent domain takings and the so-called constitutional right to privacy that resulted in the Roe v. Wade decision.
"[141] In February 2019, Rubio was one of eleven senators to sign a letter to Energy Secretary Rick Perry and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen urging them "to work with all federal, state and local regulators, as well as the hundreds of independent power producers and electricity distributors nation-wide to ensure our systems are protected" and affirming that they were "ready and willing to provide any assistance you need to secure our critical electricity infrastructure.
In a statement, Rubio opined that a proposal by Democrats to pack the court "represents the latest shortsighted effort to undermine America's confidence in our institutions and our democracy.
[158] In June 2019, along with Bob Menendez, Tom Cotton, and Kirsten Gillibrand, Rubio introduced the EQUITABLE Act, a bill that would increase oversight of Chinese and other foreign companies that were listed on American exchanges along with delisting noncompliant firms for a duration of three years.
The bill would also codify President Trump's executive order from the previous May that empowered his administration to block foreign tech companies deemed a national security threat from conducting business in the United States.
