A speech Jeb Bush gave at the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association meeting in New York led many audience members to believe that the former governor is going to run for president this cycle. Bush has given a series of signs that he’s planning a bid for the nomination, including building his team. Having been in the private sector for eight years after leaving his position as governor of Florida, Bush is missing the infrastructure and support staff that a current governor or senator would have. Jeb does have one advantage over other private-sector candidates- he has his father’s and brother’s old teams to work with, and this is exactly what he appears to be doing. Almost all the advisors and aides he has hired have worked for either George W. or George H.W. Bush.
Although he hasn’t officially announced yet, Jeb is already drawing criticism for his immigration policy. After famously stating that illegally crossing the border, especially with children in tow, is ‘an act of love’, many Republicans fear that he isn’t conservative enough to represent the party. Rebecca Tallent, who worked with John McCain and Ted Kennedy on immigration policy near the end of George W.’s presidency, is likely to become his immigration adviser. Bush has said that he will not waver on immigration, which has the potential to cause problems for him during the primaries when he must defeat Tea Party and Libertarian Republicans to win the nomination.