Trump Eyes 2016 Rival as Running Mate: Report

Donald Trump's shortlist for running mate "remains on the long side" with enough names "to fill an entire season of The Apprentice," per NBC News, though a familiar name is reportedly moving up that list: Marco Rubio. The third-term Florida senator who ran against Trump in 2016 is among Trump's potential picks for vice president, multiple outlets are reporting. "Rubio, the Miami-born son of working-class Cuban immigrants, looks good on paper and on television—a powerful combination for Trump" and if chosen, "would be the first nonwhite person ever to make a Republican presidential ticket, per NBC. "Choosing Rubio could be seen as an indication of how the Trump campaign wants to appeal to the Hispanic vote," per CBS News.

There is one hiccup. Under the Constitution, electors are instructed to "vote by Ballot for two Persons, of whom one at least shall not be an Inhabitant of the same State with themselves." Both Trump and Rubio are from Florida. But Rubio could technically change his residence, just as Dick Cheney moved from Texas to Wyoming to run with George W. Bush in 2000. It's unclear if Rubio would be willing to resign his Senate seat and move to another state. Asked in January about the possibility of being Trump's running mate, Rubio told Fox News, "We're both from the same state, so that's probably not going to work that way."

Trump has said he's considering around 15 people, with Rep. Elise Stefanik, Sen. Tim Scott, and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson‚ who previously served as Trump's secretary of housing and urban development, rumored to be among them. Trump has not said when he'll announce his choice. "No one has been directly reached out to yet, and I do not expect that for some time," a Trump adviser tells NBC, which reports the former president will be auditioning top contenders at upcoming rallies. Trump is also looking further ahead, eying people he'd like to join his cabinet should he regain the White House. According to Semafor, Rubio is also being considered for a key national security post, alongside Sens. Bill Hagerty and Tom Cotton. (More Marco Rubio stories.)