U.S. Senator Marco Rubio

Marco Rubio was born in 1971 in Miami, Florida as the son of two Cuban immigrants pursuing the American Dream. His father worked as a banquet bartender, while his mother split time as a stay-at-home mom and hotel maid. From an early age, Rubio learned the importance of faith, family, community, and dignified work to the good life.

Rubio was drawn to public service in large part because of conversations with his grandfather, who saw his homeland destroyed by communism. After meeting and marrying his wife Jeanette—and earning degrees from the University of Florida and the University of Miami Law School—Rubio served as a city commissioner in West Miami and Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives. In 2010, he won a seat in the U.S. Senate.

During his first term, Senator Rubio experienced the Washington gridlock. Efforts at reform met tough resistance from extreme partisanship and an engrained elite establishment, both of which benefited from the status quo. Senator Rubio also saw firsthand the communities the establishment had left behind: towns and cities devastated by the loss of dignified work and corroded by a culture that had forgotten the need for faith, family, and community.

But those experiences didn’t discourage Senator Rubio—they only strengthened his determination to revive the American Dream for hardworking Americans. Now in his third term, he continues to enact common-sense policies that create good jobs, strengthen communities, and protect Americans from the Chinese Communist Party.

In addition to providing award-winning constituent service, Senator Rubio has authored hundreds of new laws, including some that are truly transformational. He led the effort to reform the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and provide health care benefits to veterans suffering from toxic burn pit exposure. He doubled the federal child tax credit for working families. He kept millions of small businesses afloat during the pandemic lockdowns, through the historic Paycheck Protection Program. And he secured generous funding for Everglades restoration efforts.

Senator Rubio also wrote and passed the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which represents the greatest turning point in U.S.-China relations in decades. For these achievements and more, the Center for Effective Lawmaking consistently ranks Rubio among the three most effective senators in Congress.