Ivanka Trump Won't Challenge Marco Rubio For Senate Seat
MIAMI (CBSMiami/AP) — Senator Marco Rubio won't have to worry about a challenge from a member of the Trump family in his 2022 re-election bid.
Ivanka Trump, former president's eldest daughter and ex-senior White House adviser, spoke with Rubio several weeks ago and told him she would not be running for his seat, according to a Rubio campaign spokesperson. The two have also discussed appearing at a joint event.
The conversation, first reported by The New York Times, comes a day after Donald Trump re-emerged after nearly a month of self-imposed silence, conducting a series of interviews to commemorate the death of conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh. Trump would not comment on his political future in the interviews, saying it was too soon to talk about whether he will run again in 2024.
But there is plenty of speculation that other Trumps may want to follow in his footsteps. Lara Trump, the former president's daughter-in-law, who served as a chief campaign surrogate, is still considering running for the Senate in North Carolina. And the former president's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., remains deeply popular with his father's base.
In a pair of friendly statements, Rubio and Ivanka Trump praised one another for their efforts together working on issues like paid family leave.
"I am incredibly grateful to Ivanka for her friendship and support," said Rubio. "The challenges working moms and dads face in today's economy are real, and Ivanka was a formidable and effective advocate for them."
"Marco has been a tremendous advocate for working families, a good personal friend, and I know he will continue to drive meaningful progress on issues we both care deeply about," said Ivanka Trump.
(© Copyright 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)