Rubio doesn't see Jeb Bush as "impediment" to presidential bid

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, who may run for president, is unfazed by the possibility that fellow Floridian and former Gov. Jeb Bush could also make a bid for the presidency.

"We certainly know a lot of the same people, we also know some different people," Rubio told NPR's Steve Inskeep in an interview airing New Year's Day. "I don't believe if I decide to run for president that that will be an impediment."

Rubio has not yet made a decision to run, but, he said, "we're closer to a decision than we were a month ago."

Bush announced in mid-December that he was "actively" exploring a presidential run.

Rubio has been an active advocate for immigration reform, cosponsoring the legislation that passed the Senate and died at the House's doorstep. He objected to the president's executive actions that offered more relief to undocumented immigrants without congressional action. In the NPR interview, Rubio called Obama's use of the term "nativist" to describe opposition to the president's immigration plan "inaccurate and unwise."

"There are very legitimate reasons to believe that this country has a right to have immigration laws and to have those laws respected," he said.