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Here's What Marco Rubio Will Do Next

by Lauren Holter

Tuesday night, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio suspended his 2016 presidential campaign after losing badly to Donald Trump in his home state's primary election on Super Tuesday 3. On the campaign trail, with his eye on the White House for months on end, Rubio obviously didn't mention a backup plan in case he didn't become president, but the nation is now wondering what Rubio will do next. One thing's for sure: He's not returning to the Senate.

In multiple GOP debates, Trump and other GOP candidates bashed Rubio for missing so many votes in Senate while campaigning for president, and he had a simple rebuttal — he's leaving the position. "That's why I'm missing votes. Because I am leaving the Senate," Rubio said in an October debate. "I am not running for re-election." The Floridian's term ends in January 2017, and he doesn't care to extend his stay in Congress for another six years. After only one term as a senator, Rubio was frustrated with how slow legislation moved and how many rules dictated what he could and couldn't do.

After failing to rally enough anti-Trump Republicans behind his own campaign, Rubio is likely to join Team #NeverTrump in an attempt to keep the GOP frontrunner from winning the nomination this summer. Before even dropping out, he encouraged Ohio primary voters to support John Kasich — not himself — to stop Trump from winning the vital swing state.

Mark Wallheiser/Getty Images News/Getty Images

Rubio increasingly attacked Trump towards the end of his bid for the White House, eventually starting to use the #NeverTrump hashtag on Twitter. While presidential candidates often bash one another, they don't usually come out in such strong opposition of one another in case they later need to support their rival as the party's nominee — Rubio didn't care when it came to Trump. Because of his strong ties to the GOP establishment and this aversion to Trump, he'll probably commit himself to campaigning against Trump until the GOP convention.

However, once his party's presidential nominee is decided, it's unclear what Rubio will do. He could try to find a job in Washington outside of Congress, but he's more likely to return to Florida. Perhaps a bid for Florida governor is in his future. Hopefully he'll clue everyone in once he's done grieving his dead 2016 presidential campaign.