Marco Rubio, who was ready to leave the Senate a year ago
Marco Rubio, who was ready
to leave the Senate a year ago, finds his stride in 2017
Senator Marco Rubio says he`s
pleasantly `encouraged` at the support from his party to help Puerto Rico
recover from the devastation brought on by Hurricane Maria. Rubi visited the
island and says the challenges there are extraordinary. (Sept.26) AP
WASHINGTON – When he was campaigning for president in 2016, Sen.
Marco Rubio took flak for skipping votes and missing committee meetings. He
groused about the slow pace of Congress and planned on a return to private
life.
But after reversing course
and being re-elected last year, the Florida Republican found Washington more to his liking in 2017. That was thanks in no
small measure to a newfound partnership with a president he was able to
influence on key foreign policy matters such as Cuba and Venezuela, and a GOP Congress which helped him achieve
victories on childhood cancer and veterans’ reforms.
Then, last week, he scored
perhaps his most high-profile triumph: a Republican tax bill that expands the child tax credit he`s
been pushing for the past three years.
As he sat in his Capitol Hill
office last week with reporters, Rubio reflected on a “rewarding” year
triggered by his decision to break his pledge not to seek second term.
“For someone who a year and a
half ago wasn`t sure he was going to run for re-election, I’m glad I did,” he
said. “We’ve probably gotten more done in the past 10, 11 months than we did or
could have in the first six years.
Rubio attributes the
success to three factors: having more
experience and influence as a senator, being a member of the party in power
and, perhaps most importantly, forging a somewhat surprising alliance with
president Trump.
Both traded insults on the
campaign trail last years. Rubio called Trump a “con artist” who couldn’t be trusted
with the nuclear button. Trump dubbed Rubio as “Little Marco” and accused him
of having a sweating problem. But the two have put aside differences to develop
a pragmatic relationship.
They’ve already found common
ground on foreign policy issues involving Cuba, China and Venezuela where
Rubio`s emphasis on human rights intersected with Trump’s desire to make a
splashy reversal of Obama initiatives.
Foremost among those was Cuba, from which Rubio’s parents emigrated. The senator
worked closely with the White House to roll back some of the economic and
travel freedoms the previous administration had had approved with Havana.
When he announced his
revamped policy toward the Castro regime
in June, Trump expressed his “deep gratitude” to Rubio, calling him “a man who
has really become a friend of mine.”
Rubio found common ground
with the administration on other issues, including expanded accountability at
the Department of Veterans Affairs and, closer to home, a much longer red
snapper season for recreational fishermen in the Gulf of Mexico.
Rubio said it’s no surprise
the two have been able to set aside differences now that the campaign has long
been over.
‘Tve said less than stellar
things about Democrats too and yet once the election’s over we have to govern,
“ he said. “By and large, it’s been a good working relationship (with Trump). I
don’t agree with him on everything. But that would be true no matter who had won
this election.”
“I don’t think Marco loses
any sleep over being called ‘Little Marco’ at all,” he said. “Everything that
was in the campaign is water under the bridge. Marco has done everything that
he can try to assist this administration in moving their agenda forward.”
Article Source : USA News today
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