The $37 billion reason Marco Rubio could be Trump's VP pick
There's a key reason why Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) could be a tantalizing pick for former President Donald Trump's running mate: GOP megadonor Ken Griffin.
According to The Daily Mail, longtime Trump adviser Corey Lewandowski says that "If Sen. Rubio is the choice there are plenty of donors I'm sure will come along – including Ken Griffin, allegedly."
Griffin, a hedge fund tycoon estimated to be worth $37 billion, backed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis over Trump in the primary, who went on to flame out with a botched campaign. He was outspoken against Trump in 2022, calling him a "three-time loser" and saying the GOP should "move on" from him.
Rubio being on the ticket, however, could reportedly sway Griffin, who moved his company, Citadel, from Chicago to Miami in recent years, unlocking a deep source of campaign funding for GOP PACs.
Rubio, who first rose to prominence in the early 2010s Tea Party movement, ran against Trump for president in 2016, sharply attacking his character and morals, but became a loyal supporter of the former president while he was in office.
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If Rubio is the choice, there is a potential legal complication: it would mean both people on the Republican ticket are from Florida, which would run afoul of the 12th Amendment's prohibition on electors voting for both a president and a vice president from their own state — meaning that if Florida's remains in Trump's camp and its 30 electoral votes are decisive in his margin, Rubio would not have the votes to be confirmed vice president.
Trump could potentially get around this, however, by relocating his state of residence back to New York, where he still maintains a penthouse in Trump Tower; a similar conundrum faced the George W. Bush presidential ticket in 2000, which was resolved when running mate Dick Cheney relocated his residence from Texas to Wyoming.