“Sen. Marco Rubio referred to Joe Biden as ‘president-elect’ on Monday evening, making him the first prominent Florida Republican — who isn’t retiring — to directly acknowledge Biden’s victory even as President Donald Trump continues to falsely claim he won the election. In an interview with reporters on Capitol Hill, Rubio, who leads the Senate Intelligence Committee, was asked his opinion on reports saying independent Maine Sen. Angus King could be named director of national intelligence for the incoming Biden administration. While answering, Rubio used the term ‘president-elect’ — more than a week after every major media outlet declared Biden the winner based on vote projections — joining just five of his GOP colleagues in acknowledging that Biden had won.”

“‘Well that’ll be the president-elect’s decision, obviously,’ Rubio said. ‘I’ve worked well with [King] during our time in the Intelligence Committee and I haven’t had a chance to talk to him about it. It’s a little premature for that but, yeah, I get along with him well and we work well together.’ Rubio was then asked if his answer to the King question meant that he was calling Biden the president-elect. ‘You just called him the president-elect. Are you saying that Biden is the president-elect now?’ a reporter asked Rubio. He wouldn’t be that specific. ‘Well, ultimately that’s what the results, the preliminary results, seem to indicate,’ Rubio said. ‘You certainly have to anticipate that’s the highest likelihood at this point'” – Miami Herald.