Former Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) admitted in an interview set to air Friday that Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) has been damaged politically among conservatives for his efforts to help pass immigration reform.
DeMint, now president of the Heritage Foundation, told the Tampa Bay Times that he considers Rubio to be one of his best friends and that the Florida Republican is “presidential material.”
And while DeMint said that Rubio has taken a hit among Republicans — a point that’s backed up by polling data — he said that the junior senator is winning back allies for his support of the quixotic effort to defund Obamacare.
Heritage has been in the vanguard of the movement to defund Obamacare and DeMint said last month that it’s unclear if President Barack Obama would veto a bill that essentially guts his signature piece of legislation.
“I think it’s hurt some. We hear that around the country, but he’s getting his footing back in helping us stop Obamacare and that happens in political life,” DeMint said. “But Marco is, again, a great guy and I expect to see a lot of him over the next several years.”
