Summary
Marco Rubio was born in 1971 and is currently serving as the U.S. Secretary of State. Prior to that, he served as a U.S. Senator representing the state of Florida.
Rubio graduated from the University of Florida and then the University of Miami’s law school. Afterward he joined public service as a West Miami city commissioner. In 2000 he was elected to the Florida House of Representatives, where he became majority whip, majority leader and Speaker of the Florida House. He won the 2010 Senate election and was reelected in 2016. Rubio unsuccessfully sought the Republication nomination for U.S. President in 2016.
Below is Secretary Rubio’s voting record and public positions on issues important to the Jewish Community
Secretary Rubio opposed the Iran nuclear deal and supported the move of the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem. He supported the Taylor Force Act, which states that no American governmental funds shall be given to a Palestinian entity that financially rewards terrorists or their families. He also criticized the UN Security Council Resolution 2334, which claimed that Israel’s settlements have no legal validity, and cosponsored legislation that objected the resolution.
Secretary Rubio cosponsored the United States-Israel Security Assistance Authorization Act, a legislation that supported full funding of security assistance to Israel as outlined in the 2016 U.S.-Israel Memorandum of Understanding.
Secretary Rubio opposes the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement and cosponsored the Israel Anti-Boycott Act and the Combating BDS Act of 2017, two bills that aim to fight discriminatory boycotts that target Israel. In 2019, he voted for the Strengthening America’s Middle East Security Act which, among other things, strengthened Israel’s security and allowed a state or local government to adopt measures to divest its assets from entities that boycott Israel.
As a Senator, Rubio cosponsored of the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act, which aims to provide for the consideration of a definition of antisemitism for the enforcement of Federal anti-discrimination laws concerning education programs or activities.
