Marco Rubio Joins Small Group Of GOP Figures To Call Biden ‘President-Elect’

Republican Florida Sen. Marco Rubio joined a small group of GOP Senators in addressing former Vice President Joe Biden as the “president-elect” when talking to reporters Monday.

Rubio was asked about Biden possibly selecting Independent Maine Sen. Angus King to be the next Director of National Intelligence, to which he responded by calling Biden the “president-elect.” When asked about using the term “president-elect” Rubio explained that all results indicate that Biden will be the president, NPR reported. President Donald Trump has not yet conceded as he is awaiting lawsuits and final votes to be counted.

“Well, that’ll be the president-elect’s decision obviously,” Rubio responded.

When asked about using the term “president-elect,” Rubio said: “Ultimately that’s what the results, the preliminary results, seem to indicate. You certainly have to anticipate if that’s the highest likelihood at this point. But obviously the president has legal claims in court, and he’ll continue to pursue those, and if that changes, obviously, it’ll be something we’ll have to deal with.”

The only Republican Senators who have referred to Biden as the president-elect are Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse, and Maine Sen. Susan Collins. (RELATED: Rubio Becomes First GOP Senator To Campaign In Georgia For Loeffler, Perdue)

Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn said Monday that the country will “inaugurate a new president” in January and that “it will probably be Joe Biden,” but never referred to Biden as the “president-elect,” NPR reported.

Rubio was the first GOP senator to campaign for Republican Georgia Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue in a state where both candidates are in runoff elections that will decide who has the majority in the Senate.