During the 2016 presidential election primary season, many Republicans used Sen. Marco Rubio’s (R-FL) involvement with the immigration reform “Gang of Eight” bill as an indication that the Senator was a RINO (Republican In Name Only). When Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) was Governor of Florida following the tragic Parkland school shooting, people accused him of being a RINO as well for his signage of the bill that raised the minimum age to buy a firearm from 18 to 21.
However, those looking to make the same claim now towards the two Florida Senators will not have any ammunition following their votes against the $1.7 trillion omnibus spending bill which just passed in the Senate on Thursday.
They both released statements regarding the bill.
“I voted no today because this is a 4,100-page mega-bill, released only hours before voting, and drafted by a small group of senators with no input from the overwhelming majority of the Senate. I voted to start debate on the bill in the hopes we could use the amendment process to move it closer to something that funds a functional government focused on core responsibilities instead of deranged, far-left initiatives. That did not happen, and so I voted no,” stated Sen. Rubio.
Sen. Scott’s message was a little more situational. He believed that no Republican should support the spending bill if his amendment concerning Title 42 is not included.
“It’s no secret that the crisis at the United States’ southern border is raging out of control – and I’m afraid it’s about to get a lot worse with President Biden and Washington Democrats allowing Title 42 to end. That’s why Senator Mike Lee and I proposed a common sense amendment to extend Title 42, which may be the only policy standing between the current crisis on our border devolving into utter chaos and a total lack of control…Some of my Republican colleagues support the omnibus, but if this massive, $1.7 trillion reckless spending bill proceeds without Senator Lee and my amendment, no Republican can justify voting for its passage. The incompetent Biden administration and Secretary Mayorkas clearly have no plan to secure the border and are happy to ignore this crisis, but our border patrol agents don’t have that same luxury – they need support and resources NOW to address this crisis and protect our communities,” stated Sen. Scott.
There were 18 Republican Senators that voted for the bill, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT), and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK). The bill passed 68-29.
