Rubio blocks naming of Mexican ambassador

Floridians already know that U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio has practically abandoned his elected post in Washington in order to run for president. However, many are probably unaware that he continues to wield unwarranted power in the Senate.

Rubio is singlehandedly preventing the approval of a new and much-needed ambassador to Mexico by placing her appointment “on hold.”

Roberta S. Jacobson, a U.S. State Department veteran, was nominated to the top Mexican diplomatic post last summer by President Barack Obama. She is an experienced State Department employee who speaks fluent Spanish.

However, she was instrumental in negotiating the thaw in Cuban-American relationships — anathema to Cuban-American Rubio — who clings to his abrasive family history. When it comes to Cuba, Rubio is stubbornly rigid.

As The Post has recently reported, thousands of new, unaccompanied Central American children are once again crossing the Mexican border into the United States, fleeing violence and causing a new humanitarian crisis.

One assumes from Rubio’s stance on immigration (as confusing as it is) that he would hope to stop this flow of children. I wonder what his opinion will be when the 6,000 Cubans making their way north from Costa Rica arrive in Texas, Arizona and California, seeking refuge. Nicaragua has opened its border, and the Cubans are on their way.

So far, the senator has been silent.

And thanks to Rubio, the United States has no ambassador to Mexico who could address the refugee problems at the highest level.