Rubio’s newfound objection to surveillance appears to be limited to spying on the Israeli government. The senator has been a long-time defender of the NSA’s mass surveillance. “There is no evidence that these programs have been systematically abused,” he said in 2014, decrying what he described as “paranoia” around surveillance programs.
The previous year, he defended spying on foreign government officials, saying that “everybody spies on everybody, it’s just a fact.” In the most recent presidential debate, he accused rivals, like Ted Cruz, of endangering U.S. security by supporting modest reforms to the surveillance regime.
One reason Rubio may be carving out a special objection to spying on the Israeli government is that he is competing in the so-called Adelson primary — a contest for the financial backing of the pro-Israel casino magnate who spent $150 million during the 2012 election.
Already, Rubio has locked in the support of Paul Singer, a billionaire hedge funder who has invested tens of millions of dollars in promoting pro-Israel causes. Singer hosted a fundraising event for Rubio in New York City earlier this month.
