Challenges Faced by Marco Rubio: Obstacles and Turning Points

Life is full of challenges, and Marco Rubio faced many. Discover key struggles and how they were overcome.

Marco Antonio Rubio is an American politician, lawyer, and diplomat. Since 2025, he has served as the 72nd United States Secretary of State and as acting National Security Advisor. He is a member of the Republican Party.

Sections (5)

Full Timeline Early Life & Education Career & Achievements Challenges & Struggles Controversies & Scandals

2001: Rubio's plan to reduce property taxes

In 2001, Marco Rubio introduced a plan to reduce state property taxes to 2001 levels and potentially eliminate them altogether, while increasing sales taxes to fund schools. This proposal was eventually opposed and Rubio agreed to smaller changes.

January 2007: Charlie Crist takes office and clashes with Rubio

In January 2007, Charlie Crist succeeded Jeb Bush as governor and frequently clashed with Marco Rubio. Their most significant disagreement involved Crist's initiative to expand casino gambling in Florida. Rubio sued Crist for bypassing the Florida Legislature, and the Florida Supreme Court sided with Rubio, blocking the deal.

2010: Foreclosure of shared residence

In 2010, the Tallahassee residence that Marco Rubio co-owned with David Rivera went into foreclosure after missed mortgage payments. Rubio assumed responsibility for the payments, and the house was eventually sold.

2013: Rubio's Support for Immigration Reform Leads to Decline in Tea Party Support

In 2013, Marco Rubio's support for comprehensive immigration reform legislation led to a decline in Tea Party support for him.

2013: Republican response to Obama's 2013 State of the Union Address

In 2013, Rubio delivered the Republican response to President Obama's State of the Union Address, which was the first time the response was delivered in both English and Spanish. Rand Paul delivered an additional response, calling for defense sequestration.

April 18, 2014: Rubio drops to 10th place in New Hampshire poll

As of April 18, 2014, Rubio dropped to 10th place in a WMUR/University poll tracking New Hampshire's Republican primary voters' sentiment, but was still seen as not disliked.

November 2014: Rubio pushes for elimination of 'risk corridors'

In November 2014, with Republicans taking control of the U.S. Senate, Rubio advocated for the elimination of the "risk corridors" within the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). These corridors were intended to be funded by profitable insurers but were depleted due to insurer losses.

February 2015: Analysis of Rubio's voting record

According to an analysis reported in February 2015, Rubio missed 8.3% of total votes from January 2011 to February 2015.

November 2015: Rubio's stance on Syrian refugees after Paris attacks

In November 2015, following the Paris terrorist attacks, Marco Rubio stated that the U.S. should halt the acceptance of Syrian refugees due to the inability to conduct thorough background checks.

February 6, 2016: Rubio criticized by Chris Christie in New Hampshire debate.

During a nationally televised debate on February 6, 2016, in New Hampshire, Rubio was criticized by Chris Christie for speaking repetitively and sounding "scripted".

February 2016: Rubio Criticizes Trump During Republican Primary

In February 2016, during the Republican primary campaign, Marco Rubio called Donald Trump a "con artist" and said he was "wholly unprepared to be president of the United States".

May 17, 2016: Rubio supports Obama's request for Zika virus spending.

On May 17, 2016, Rubio supported Obama's request for $2 billion in emergency spending on the Zika virus, stating it was really the scientists' and doctors' request to address the issue.

June 2016: Rubio Reaffirms Criticism of Trump

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".

January 2017: Rubio's expected departure from politics.

By January 2017, after suspending his presidential campaign and ruling out other political offices, Rubio initially indicated he would be a "private citizen", leading to speculation about the termination of his political career.

April 5, 2017: Rubio comments on Bashar al-Assad's actions.

On April 5, 2017, Rubio stated that Bashar al-Assad felt he could act with "impunity" because the United States wasn't prioritizing his removal from office.

February 2018: Rubio defends accepting NRA contributions

In February 2018, at a CNN town hall event following the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, Marco Rubio defended his record of accepting contributions from the National Rifle Association (NRA), attributing the group's influence to its millions of supporters rather than monetary donations.

March 2018: Rubio defends citizenship question on 2020 census

In March 2018, Marco Rubio defended the Trump administration's decision to include a citizenship question on the 2020 census, despite concerns that it would lead to undercounting of undocumented immigrants.

April 2020: Supreme Court defeats Rubio's attempt to stop Obamacare

In April 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court voted 8–1 to defeat Marco Rubio's attempt to stop the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.

November 23, 2020: Rubio refers to Biden as president-elect.

By November 23, 2020, after initial defense of Trump's challenges to the election results, Rubio referred to Biden as president-elect.

2020: China sanctions Rubio

In 2020, China imposed sanctions on Marco Rubio and banned him from traveling to the country due to his support for Hong Kong's democracy movement.

2020: Sanctioned by China

In 2020, Marco Rubio was sanctioned twice by the Chinese government and banned from entering China.

2020: Rubio supports Judy Shelton's nomination to the Federal Reserve board

In 2020, Rubio supported the nomination of Judy Shelton to the Federal Reserve board of governors, despite her receiving criticism for her monetary policy views.