Marco Rubio: I'll Vote Against My Own Bill

Immigration reform must get beefed up, or 'we're wasting time'
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 5, 2013 11:08 AM CDT
Marco Rubio: I'll Vote Against My Own Bill
In this Oct. 5, 2011 file photo, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. speaks in Washington.   (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari, File)

Marco Rubio may have been one of the driving forces behind the Gang of Eight's immigration reform bill, but that doesn't mean he's planning to vote for it. He told radio host Hugh Hewitt yesterday that the parts of the bill related to border security need to be strengthened before the bill heads to final Senate consideration, because he doesn't want the bill to "give overwhelming discretion to the Department of Homeland Security." And if those amendments aren't made, "then I think we’ve got a bill that isn’t going to become law, and I think we’re wasting our time," and he wouldn't support it, Rubio said.

The Washington Examiner says such a move would be "an extraordinary turn of events," since Rubio has been the public face of the legislation. Byron York doesn't understand Rubio's change of heart, since the Senate Judiciary Committee actually did strengthen and expand the security measures when it approved the bill. But Rubio could simply be concerned the bill won't pass: He also told Hewitt there aren't 60 votes in the Senate for the bill, and there won't be unless the bill is strengthened, because "the majority of our colleagues are prepared to do immigration reform, [but] they’re only prepared to do it if we ensure that this illegal immigration problem never happens again." (More Marco Rubio stories.)

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