Marco Rubio Knocks Rivals for Voting to ‘Weaken US Intelligence'

— -- Republican Sen. Marco Rubio knocked his GOP presidential competitors Ted Cruz and Rand Paul for voting to "weaken U.S. Intelligence" gathering capabilities.

“Two of my colleagues in the Senate who are aspiring to the presidency -- Senator Cruz in particular -- have voted to weaken the U.S. Intelligence program, just in the last month and a half,” said Rubio, speaking at The Wall Street Journal’s CEO Council in Washington, D.C., on Monday evening.

This year, Cruz and Paul supported legislation that would put an end to current government data-collection programs, while Rubio voted to keep them.

Rubio’s comments came as he was explaining what he thinks the U.S. should be doing domestically in the fight against ISIS and in light of the group’s recent terror attacks on Paris.

"We are vulnerable. What happened in Paris could happen in a major American city at any moment at any time,” he said.

Those who oppose data collection programs often cite privacy concerns. On Monday, Rubio said the number one obligation of the federal government is to provide national security for the country, a point he often makes on the campaign trail. If someone in the federal program were found to be abusing the intelligence gathering programs, he said, that individual should be fired and prosecuted.

"The United States government has neither the competence, the money, or the time to spy on every American,” said Rubio. "But we need to have access to this information to save American lives."

Sen. Cruz's spokesman Rick Tyler tweeted yesterday a response to Rubio's comments.

Cruz has attacked Rubio for having been too soft on immigration and refuted Rubio's claims regarding immigration, calling them "laughingly, blazingly, on its face false" last week. Rubio responded by saying Cruz had once supported legalizing illegal immigrants. On Monday, he reiterated that same point.

"[Cruz] said he wanted to bring people out of the shadows and legalize them, just not grant them citizenship,” said Rubio. "If he has changed his position on that, he has a right to change his position, he should just be asked to clarify what his position is today."