Carlos Curbelo in 2015 State of the Union address

On Foreign Policy: Cuba & Iran: no unearned concessions to cruel dictatorships

The two freshmen diverged on some matters: Curbelo mentioned Cuba, criticizing "unearned concessions" by the Obama administration to "cruel dictatorships" in Cuba and Iran. Ernst made a separate mention of Iran--and didn't utter Cuba once.

Curbelo is Cuban-American, so it was not surprising that he would go after Obama on the subject. Obama himself devoted a paragraph of his speech to establishing closer ties with the island, and asked Congress explicitly to lift the trade embargo against Cuba. What's perhaps more noteworthy is that Ernst said nothing on the subject, highlighting the rift within the GOP about whether rapprochement with Raul Castro's communist regime is a good idea.

On Immigration: Modernize legal immigration: no official English

The differences are particularly noteworthy because the House GOP said when it announced its rebuttal speakers that Curbelo would offer a translation of Ernst's remarks. Curbelo said Tuesday afternoon that there would be differences, and Republicans changed their tune after Mother Jones reported earlier Tuesday that Ernst's positions--particularly in support of English as the country's official language--seemed in conflict with a Spanish-language rebuttal.