Carlos Curbelo

Curbelo is the son of Cuban exiles in Florida. He attended Belen Jesuit Preparatory School. He attended the University of Miami, where he earned bachelor and masters' degrees in public administration.

Curbelo was previously a member of the Miami-Dade County Public Schools board. He is the founder of Capitol Gains, a government and public relations firm.

He is also a former state director for former U.S. senator George LeMieux of Florida.

Chief Judge Kevin Michael Moore, swearing in members of Congress: Carlos Curbelo, Frederica Wilson, Mario Díaz-Balart, and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen. (February 2015)

Elections

2014

In the 2014 election, Curbelo defeated incumbent Joe Garcia of the Democratic Party by 52 to 48 percent.

2016

Curbelo ran for re-election in 2016. He was unopposed in the Republican primary. In the general election, Curbelo defeated former Democratic U.S. representative Joe Garcia. Curbelo received 53% of the vote.

Committee assignments

In the 115th Congress, Curbelo sits on the following committee and subcommittees:

• United States House Committee on Ways and Means
  • United States House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Human Resources
  • United States House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Oversight

Curbelo is a member of the Republican Main Street Partnership.

Curbelo has a reputation as a moderate Republican. According to McClatchy, "Curbelo has broken ranks with his party to take lonely stands on high-profile topics ranging from abortion and women’s health to climate change, the environment, immigration and government spending." Curbelo was ranked as the 11th most bipartisan member of the U.S. House of Representatives during the 114th United States Congress and the third most bipartisan member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida in the Bipartisan Index created by The Lugar Center and the McCourt School of Public Policy by measuring the frequency each member's bills attract co-sponsors from the opposite party and each member's co-sponsorship of bills by members of the opposite party.

But as of May 8, 2017, Curbelo had voted against his party just 11.8% of the time. During this same period, he voted with Donald Trump's positions 92.9% of the time, although Democrat Hillary Clinton defeated Trump in this district, in the 2016 presidential election, by a result of 161,555 votes to 115,529 votes.

Abortion

He opposes abortion.

Donald Trump

In February 2017, while serving on the Ways and Means Committee, he voted against a measure that would have led to a request of the Treasury Department for Trump's tax returns. He then voted against a resolution that would have directed the House to request 10 years of Trump's tax returns, which would then have been reviewed by the House Ways and Means Committee in a closed session.

In March 2016, Curbelo said he would not vote for Trump in the 2016 presidential election, calling it "a moral decision" rather than a political decision.

Curbelo supported Trump's 2017 executive order to impose a temporary ban on entry to the U.S. of people from seven Muslim-majority countries. He stated “I expect that these executive orders are in fact temporary and that once the Administration strengthens the vetting process, we can continue our tradition of welcoming those who are persecuted, in an orderly manner and without any kind of religious test.”

Environment

In February 2016, Curbelo and Democratic representative Ted Deutch created the bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus in the House to “explore policy options that address the impacts, causes, and challenges of our changing climate."

Healthcare

Curbelo favored repealing the Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare"). Curbelo said, "I clearly do not support the law and think it is bad policy. ... However I prefer to use the word ‘replace’ or ‘substitute’ Obamacare because to just say ‘repeal’ implies that there is no need for health care reform. But yes, if we replace or substitute Obamacare, that means it would no longer exist."

On May 4, 2017, Curbelo voted to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and pass the American Health Care Act. Two days earlier, he had voiced his opposition to the bill, saying it "fails to sufficiently protect Americans with pre-existing conditions".

Curbelo married Cecilia Lowell, sister of former Marlins third baseman Mike Lowell, in 2006 and resides in Kendall, Florida.

He was diagnosed with whooping cough in August 2015. He was vaccinated as a child but did not receive the recommended booster shots as an adult.