As Florida Senator Marco Rubio prepares to welcome Governor Rick Scott to the U.S. Senate, the soon-to-be senior senator from the sunshine state first had to bid farewell to Bill Nelson, who lost his bid for re-election to Scott in the 2018 mid-term elections.
Rubio was always contended that while he and Nelson differed on ideology, the two men had a very respectful working relationship, not to mention becoming good friends in the 6 years theye been working together.
Here is an excerpt of Rubio's floor Senate floor farewell to Nelson:
"Bill Nelson in his service years has been a man of compassion. He told you a handful of stories. There are so many more of real human beings who he has stayed engaged in cases involving them without cameras, without press, without bumper stickers, without documentaries or any sort of recognition that so often people seek in the political process.
We live in a time in which being crude and abrasive is celebrated as strength while decency is oftentimes ridiculed as weakness...When the history of Florida politics as it is written, the name Bill Nelson will be among the giants of Florida political history. For few who have ever served at any level have done more for longer in the service to the people of the Sunshine State than the senior senator who moments ago bid his farewell to a place and a chamber where he's done so much good for our state, for our nation, and for the world. "
