Table of Biography
Mario Díaz-Balart tested positive for COVID-19!
Florida Representative Mario Diaz-Balart along with fellow representative Ben McAdams, announced on Wednesday, 18th March that they tested positive for the coronavirus that is creating the global pandemic of COVID-19. Talking in detail about his symptoms, Rep. Diaz-Balart said that his sickness started with a splitting headache on Saturday night. He also added in an interview with his older brother, NBC anchor Jose Diaz-Balart:
“Luckily I have not had an issue breathing so I’ve never had a scary moment. But obviously very very unpleasant with headaches, with coughing and with intense fever all coming at the same time, it seems.”
Though the Rep. said he was feeling better in Saturday’s interview with his brother, he also added that his situation might not be the same. He added:
“It’s a tricky bug because just when I thought I was over it — or I was pretty close to getting over it — the fever will come back. But … not as bad as it was originally, and I think hopefully the worst is passed.”
Besides Representatives Díaz-Balart and Ben McAdams, Rand Paul became the first US senator who tested positive for the virus on Sunday. Moreover, after stating that they tested positive for the virus, Reps. Díaz-Balart and Ben McAdams became the first U.S. lawmakers to contract the virus that is spreading across the country.
Caption: Mario Díaz-Balart speaking to the media after testing positive for COVID-19. Source: Daily Mail
More details
Publicizing more details, the Florida Representative said that he had the symptoms just hours after he left the House floor for a vote on a coronavirus response bill. In the early Saturday session, over 400 members of Congress also voted. Rep. He stated that he decided to self-quarantine in Washington D.C. after the vote but he didn’t clarify why he believed he needed to self-quarantine.
Additionally, the representative also said that he decided to remain in Washington because he was concerned about being in his South Florida home. Because his wife, who has a pre-existing condition, would be an exceptionally high risk.
Although representatives Diaz-Balart and McAdams are the first in Congress to develop coronavirus, this illness has struck a small number of congressional aides. This is sure to heighten the already-acute fears on Capitol Hill that members themselves, particularly the high proportion of elderly lawmakers, are vulnerable when they meet in Washington.
Early Life and Childhood
Representative Mario Díaz-Balart was born on September 25, 1961, in Fort Lauderdale. And is currently 62 years old. His parents are Rafael Díaz-Balart and Hilda Caballero Brunet. His father was a Cuban politician. He has three brothers namely Lincoln Díaz-Balart, José Díaz-Balart, and Rafael Díaz-Balart. Lincoln represented Florida’s 21st District from 1993 to 2011, José is a journalist, and Rafael is a banker. He is the youngest of four siblings.
Talking more about his other family members, his aunt was the first wife of Fidel Castro, Mirta Díaz-Balart. Her son, a.k.a. his cousin was Fidel Ángel “Fidelito” Castro Díaz-Balart. Similarly, his uncle is the Cuban-Spanish painter, Waldo Díaz-Balart.
Moving to his educational background, he studied Political Science at the University of South Florida in Tampa. He enrolled there before beginning his public service career as an aide to then-Miami Mayor Xavier Suárez in 1985. The same year, he changed his political party affiliation from Democratic to Republican. His full name is Mario Rafael Díaz-Balart Caballero and he is 58 years old.
Professional Life
Mario Diaz-Balart is a Congressman who is currently fulfilling his 9th term in the U.S. House of Representatives. He is serving Florida’s 25th congressional district. Moreover, he is a senior member of the House Committee on Appropriations and he is also a Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development.
In addition to this, he is serving on the Defense Subcommittee. He passionately serves his constituents and acts tirelessly in defense of individual rights and liberties. He also promotes economic prosperity and supports a strong national defense. Also, he is popular for his advocacy of human rights and democracy around the world, as well as for his committed support of global allies.
Additionally, in 2002, Diaz-Balart was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives to represent Florida’s 25th Congressional district. Before this, Diaz-Balart served 14 years in the Florida State Legislature in both chambers, House and Senate. He also chaired several different committees including the Combined Appropriations/Ways and Means/Finance and Tax Committee.
More details
As of January 2018, Díaz-Balart had voted with his party in 92.4% of votes so far in the 115th United States Congress. He also voted in line with President Trump’s position with 93.1% of the votes. Moreover, he is a founding member of the Congressional Hispanic Conference, a caucus of Hispanic Republican congressmen.
In May 2019, Díaz-Balart voted to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in employment, housing, public accommodations, public education, federal funding, credit, and the jury system under the Equality Act. He also joined seven other Republicans and 228 Democrats in supporting the legislation. It passed the United States House of Representatives during the 116th Congress.
Regarding climate change, he said in 2007:
“I know there’s a lot of money to be made on the bandwagon of global warming, you can make movies, documentaries, get a lot of research money — and that’s okay, I love capitalism…My fear is using the bandwagon of global warming to have Congress act on some knee-jerk reaction which will please some editorialists, will hurt our economy, will not do anything to help us in the future.”
However, as of January 2018, Díaz-Balart was not a member of the bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus.
Political positions
Additionally, on 4 May 2017, Mario Díaz-Balart voted to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) and pass the American Health Care Act. Moreover, on 29 September 2008, Rep. He voted against the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. It intended to purchase distressed assets and supply cash directly to banks during the global financial crisis of 2008.
Also, he voted to promote free trade with Peru and against assisting workers who lose jobs due to globalization, for the Central America Free Trade Agreement, the US-Australia Free Trade Agreement, the US-Singapore Free Trade Agreement, and free trade with Chile. The National Foreign Trade Council rated him 75% which indicates its support for trade engagement.
Caption: Mario Díaz-Balart was captured during a speech. Source: Miami New Times
Relationship Status
Florida Representative Mario Diaz-Balart is a married man. His wife is Tia Balart and the couple has a son named Cristian Rafael. The family resides in Miami, Florida. He plays the drums. Moreover, his son, Cristian, underwent open-heart surgery at two months old whereas his wife, Tia, is a cancer survivor. Both are healthy at present.
Personal Details
Mario Díaz-Balart is an avid scuba diver and he met Fabien Cousteau, grandson of Jacques-Yves Cousteau, in his underwater laboratory during Mission 31. There, Cousteau successfully broke his grandfather’s record of 30 consecutive days of underwater living. Moreover, he and his wife foster dogs and have a soft spot for older dogs that often go unloved. Also, their dog, Napoleon, is 20 years old.
Rep. He comes from a family of public servants; his grandfather and father both served in Congress in Cuba, and his brother, Lincoln, served in the U.S. House of Representatives. Additionally, he was twice the victim of identity theft and he ran with the bulls in Pamplona. Also, he is an advocate of human rights and a defender of political prisoners, dissidents, and pro-democracy activists around the world.
Caption: Mario Díaz-Balart with his wife and son. Source: GOP
Mario Díaz-Balart – Body Measurements
There is no information regarding the Florida representative’s body measurement stats. His height, weight, chest-waist-hip measurements, dress size, shoe size, etc. are all unavailable. Moreover, he has brown eyes and brown colored hair that has turned white with aging.
Mario Díaz-Balart – Social Media
Representative Mario Díaz-Balart is pretty active on social media platforms. He joined Twitter in May 2009 and as of March 2020, he has 60.2k followers. Similarly, on Instagram, he has 17k followers alongside 777 posts so far. He also has a Facebook page with 30k followers and 27.49k likes.