The office of Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) posted video of the absentee officeholder returning to his job two days after after being routed in the Florida GOP presidential primary by Donald Trump, 45.7% to 27.0%.
Rubio having effectively quit his job in the Senate hurt him among Florida voters who had elected Rubio to a six-year term in 2010 as part of the Tea Party rebellion.
The Washington Post reported last fall on Rubio walking away from his Senate job.
Marco Rubio is a U.S. senator. And he just can’t stand it anymore.
“I don’t know that ‘hate’ is the right word,” Rubio said in an interview. “I’m frustrated.”
This year, as Rubio runs for president, he has cast the Senate — the very place that cemented him as a national politician — as a place he’s given up on, after less than one term. It’s too slow. Too rule-bound. So Rubio, 44, has decided not to run for his seat again. It’s the White House or bust.
“That’s why I’m missing votes. Because I am leaving the Senate. I am not running for reelection,” Rubio said in the last Republican debate, after Donald Trump had mocked him for his unusual number of absences during Senate votes.”
The video of Rubio receiving a standing ovation for showing up to work at his office in the Russell Senate Office Building was posted to Twitter by Rubio’s Deputy Chief of Staff and communications director Alex Burgos with the statement, “A few minutes ago, @marcorubio U.S. Senate staff welcomed him back to the office:”
A few minutes ago, @marcorubio U.S. Senate staff welcomed him back to the office: pic.twitter.com/neRSJ1ANMD
— Alex Burgos (@BurgosGOP) March 17, 2016
Rubio’s term as senator expires in less than ten months.
