Senator Marco Rubio may be setting up to run for president in 2020. The Florida Republican has just snagged a huge name in conservative politics to become his chief of staff. Michael Needham, 36, is the CEO of a powerful anti-gay Koch Brothers-funded ultra-conservative activist organization, Heritage Action, the lobbying arm of the right-wing think tank Heritage Foundation.
The New York Times calls Needham “a leading practitioner of the uncompromising, scorched-earth style of political combat.”
Heritage Action has posted dozens of tweets advocating against LGBT and especially transgender people.
“The move is certain to raise questions about whether Mr. Rubio, whose hopes of becoming president in 2016 were dashed by Mr. Trump, may be positioning himself for another run,” The New York Times reports. “And it underscores how unsettled the conservative movement remains nearly two years after Mr. Trump won the Republican presidential nomination and became the party’s improbable leader.”
Needham was a leader of the charge to repeal ObamaCare, and in 2013 the federal government shutdown.
Heritage Action’s parent organization, the Heritage Foundation, has steadfastly attacked the LGBT community and worked to oppose same-sex marriage and rights for transgender people. Heritage senior research fellow Ryan T. Anderson is a leading anti-LGBT activist.
Heritage Action has also worked to destroy ObamaCare, food stamps, and immigration reform.
And it has worked hard to push the pro-discrimination First Amendment Defense Act (FADA), a federal “religious liberty” bill that would carve out special rights for people who oppose same-sex marriage.
“It is imperative that we protect religious liberty for all Americans by passing the First Amendment Defense Act,” Needham said in 2016.
If Marco Rubio is exploring a 2020 presidential run, hiring Needham will definitely move him further to the right.