Mitch Perry
Speaking on Fox and Friends Thursday morning, Marco Rubio defended his remarks in Wednesday night’s presidential debate about missing more votes than anyone else this year in the Senate.
“When there is a vote that’s meaningful and serious, we are there and doing our job,” he told the cable new network’s morning show.
Hours later, the Florida Senator and member of the Foreign Relations Committee then missed his 78th vote this year. It was an amendment from Majority Leader Mitch McConnell that would have prevented President Obama from lifting sanctions on Iran until the country releases American prisoners and publicly recognizes Israel’s right to exist. Sixty votes were needed to move forward, but the proposal only receive 53 votes, seven short of passage.
That missed vote didn’t escape the notice of trackers with the Democratic National Committee, who later in the day issued out an email with a video clip from the Fox News morning appearance.
There are five U.S. senators running for president – Rubio, Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Lindsey Graham and Bernie Sanders – but none have missed as many votes as Rubio has. USA Today reported earlier this week that from the start of this year to Sept. 9, Rubio had missed 77 of 263 roll call votes.
In Wednesday’s debate, Donald Trump referenced Rubio’s frequent absences from the Senate.
“You’re right, I have missed some votes, and I’ll tell you why, Mr. Trump,” Rubio said. “Because in my years in the Senate, I’ve figured out very quickly that the political establishment in Washington, D.C., in both political parties is completely out of touch with the lives of our people. That’s why I’m missing votes. Because I am leaving the Senate, I’m not running for re-election, and I’m running for president because I know this: Unless we have the right president, we cannot make America fulfill its potential, but with the right person in office, the 21st century can be the greatest era that our nation has ever known.”
“Not showing up for work is something that middle-class families couldn’t afford to do, and despite Rubio’s salary being paid for by taxpayers, Rubio seems to be a-okay with his repeated absence,” the DNC email statement read.
