Sen. Marco Rubio and Sen. Bill Nelson disagree on President Donald Trump's Supreme Court justice nominee Brett Kavanaugh. Photos by Getty Images
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida’s two senators, echoing a sharply partisan divide nationally, are splitting over whether to support U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, the Democratic incumbent caught up in a tight re-election battle with Gov. Rick Scott, said Friday that he would vote against Kavanaugh, while Republican U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio said he would support the nominee put forward by President Donald Trump.
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The decision of Florida’s two senators came a day after a Senate committee heard testimony from Kavanaugh adamantly denying that he sexually assaulted Christine Blasey Ford, who insisted she’s “100 percent” certain he did.
“Dr. Ford’s testimony was compelling and raises questions about his character and, therefore, there needs to be a full FBI investigation,” Nelson said in a statement emailed by his Senate office.
Nelson’s comments were the first time he has taken a position publicly on Kavanaugh. He said that he had tried but was not able to schedule a meeting with the appeals court judge.
Rubio said he would support Kavanaugh, but in a lengthy statement sharply criticized the Thursday Senate hearing and said both senators and the media had “disgraced themselves.” He said the confirmation process would be viewed as a “dark moment in the Senate’s history.”
“This entire ordeal is indicative of something that goes beyond the nomination before us,” Rubio said. “It has revealed how our culture has become increasingly sick and demented, unmoored from the values upon which this great nation was founded and which have allowed our society to flourish.”
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PORTLAND, ME - SEPTEMBER 28: A protestor holds up an anti-Kavanaugh sign during a gathering across the street from Sen. Susan Collins' office to urge Sen. Collins to vote no on the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh on September 28, 2018 in Portland, Maine. Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) was crucial in getting the committee to agree to an additional week of investigations into accusations of sexual assault against Kavanaugh before the full Senate votes. A day earlier the committee heard from Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford, a California professor who has accused Kavnaugh of sexually assaulting her during a party in 1982 when they were high school students in suburban Maryland. (Photo by Sarah Rice/Getty Images)PORTLAND, ME - SEPTEMBER 28: C. Coyne with the Portland Police Department responds to a call about the number of people congregating in the hallway outside Sen. Susan Collins' office during a sit-in protesting Brett Kavanaugh at Sen. Collins' office on September 28, 2018 in Portland, Maine. Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) was crucial in getting the committee to agree to an additional week of investigations into accusations of sexual assault against Kavanaugh before the full Senate votes. A day earlier the committee heard from Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford, a California professor who has accused Kavnaugh of sexually assaulting her during a party in 1982 when they were high school students in suburban Maryland. (Photo by Sarah Rice/Getty Images)PORTLAND, ME - SEPTEMBER 28: Kate Simson, center, with Sen. Susan Collins' office, listens to protestors and takes comment cards during a sit-in protest against the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh at Sen. Collins' office on September 28, 2018 in Portland, Maine. Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) was crucial in getting the committee to agree to an additional week of investigations into accusations of sexual assault against Kavanaugh before the full Senate votes. A day earlier the committee heard from Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford, a California professor who has accused Kavnaugh of sexually assaulting her during a party in 1982 when they were high school students in suburban Maryland. (Photo by Sarah Rice/Getty Images)PORTLAND, ME - SEPTEMBER 28: Protestors gather in Sen. Susan Collins' office to urge Sen. Collins to vote no on the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh on September 28, 2018 in Portland, Maine. From left, Rev. Allen Ewing-Merrill, Ophelia Hu Kinney, and Julie Harrison (second from right) and a protestor who didn't want to be identified. Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) was crucial in getting the committee to agree to an additional week of investigations into accusations of sexual assault against Kavanaugh before the full Senate votes. A day earlier the committee heard from Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford, a California professor who has accused Kavnaugh of sexually assaulting her during a party in 1982 when they were high school students in suburban Maryland. (Photo by Sarah Rice/Getty Images)PORTLAND, ME - SEPTEMBER 28: Protestors gather in Sen. Susan Collins' office to urge Sen. Collins to vote no on the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh on September 28, 2018 in Portland, Maine. At center is Rev. Allen Ewing-Merrill. Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) was crucial in getting the committee to agree to an additional week of investigations into accusations of sexual assault against Kavanaugh before the full Senate votes. A day earlier the committee heard from Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford, a California professor who has accused Kavnaugh of sexually assaulting her during a party in 1982 when they were high school students in suburban Maryland. (Photo by Sarah Rice/Getty Images)PORTLAND, ME - SEPTEMBER 28: Protestors left a sign at the entrance to Sen. Susan Collins' office on September 28, 2018 in Portland, Maine. Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) was crucial in getting the committee to agree to an additional week of investigations into accusations of sexual assault against Kavanaugh before the full Senate votes. A day earlier the committee heard from Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford, a California professor who has accused Kavnaugh of sexually assaulting her during a party in 1982 when they were high school students in suburban Maryland. (Photo by Sarah Rice/Getty Images)PORTLAND, ME - SEPTEMBER 28: Protestors gather in Sen. Susan Collins' office on September 28, 2018 in Portland, Maine. Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) was crucial in getting the committee to agree to an additional week of investigations into accusations of sexual assault against Kavanaugh before the full Senate votes. A day earlier the committee heard from Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford, a California professor who has accused Kavnaugh of sexually assaulting her during a party in 1982 when they were high school students in suburban Maryland. (Photo by Sarah Rice/Getty Images)PORTLAND, ME - SEPTEMBER 28: Protestors gather across the street from Sen. Susan Collins' office to urge Sen. Collins to vote no on the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh on September 28, 2018 in Portland, Maine. Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) was crucial in getting the committee to agree to an additional week of investigations into accusations of sexual assault against Kavanaugh before the full Senate votes. A day earlier the committee heard from Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford, a California professor who has accused Kavnaugh of sexually assaulting her during a party in 1982 when they were high school students in suburban Maryland. (Photo by Sarah Rice/Getty Images)PORTLAND, ME - SEPTEMBER 28: Kenji Garland, of Portland, holds his sign with protestors gathered across the street from Sen. Susan Collins' office to urge Sen. Collins to vote no on the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh on September 28, 2018 in Portland, Maine.Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) was crucial in getting the committee to agree to an additional week of investigations into accusations of sexual assault against Kavanaugh before the full Senate votes. A day earlier the committee heard from Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford, a California professor who has accused Kavnaugh of sexually assaulting her during a party in 1982 when they were high school students in suburban Maryland. (Photo by Sarah Rice/Getty Images)PORTLAND, ME - SEPTEMBER 28: Lara Schneider, of Portland, holds a sign during a protest across the street from Sen. Susan Collins' office to urge Sen. Collins to vote no on the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh on September 28, 2018 in Portland, Maine. Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) was crucial in getting the committee to agree to an additional week of investigations into accusations of sexual assault against Kavanaugh before the full Senate votes. A day earlier the committee heard from Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford, a California professor who has accused Kavnaugh of sexually assaulting her during a party in 1982 when they were high school students in suburban Maryland. (Photo by Sarah Rice/Getty Images)PORTLAND, ME - SEPTEMBER 28: Rachel McDonald, of Portland, holds up her sign during a protest across the street from Sen. Susan Collins' office to urge Sen. Collins to vote no on the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh on September 28, 2018 in Portland, Maine. Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) was crucial in getting the committee to agree to an additional week of investigations into accusations of sexual assault against Kavanaugh before the full Senate votes. A day earlier the committee heard from Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford, a California professor who has accused Kavnaugh of sexually assaulting her during a party in 1982 when they were high school students in suburban Maryland. (Photo by Sarah Rice/Getty Images)PORTLAND, ME - SEPTEMBER 28: Protestors gather across the street from Sen. Susan Collins' office to urge Sen. Collins to vote no on the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh on September 28, 2018 in Portland, Maine. Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) was crucial in getting the committee to agree to an additional week of investigations into accusations of sexual assault against Kavanaugh before the full Senate votes. A day earlier the committee heard from Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford, a California professor who has accused Kavnaugh of sexually assaulting her during a party in 1982 when they were high school students in suburban Maryland. (Photo by Sarah Rice/Getty Images)PORTLAND, ME - SEPTEMBER 28: Protestors gather across the street from Sen. Susan Collins' office to urge Sen. Collins to vote no on the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh on September 28, 2018 in Portland, Maine. Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) was crucial in getting the committee to agree to an additional week of investigations into accusations of sexual assault against Kavanaugh before the full Senate votes. A day earlier the committee heard from Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford, a California professor who has accused Kavnaugh of sexually assaulting her during a party in 1982 when they were high school students in suburban Maryland. (Photo by Sarah Rice/Getty Images)PORTLAND, ME - SEPTEMBER 28: Sarah Corsico, of Portland, stands with protestors gathered across the street from Sen. Susan Collins' office to urge Sen. Collins to vote no on the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh on September 28, 2018 in Portland, Maine. Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) was crucial in getting the committee to agree to an additional week of investigations into accusations of sexual assault against Kavanaugh before the full Senate votes. A day earlier the committee heard from Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford, a California professor who has accused Kavnaugh of sexually assaulting her during a party in 1982 when they were high school students in suburban Maryland. (Photo by Sarah Rice/Getty Images)PORTLAND, ME - SEPTEMBER 28: Yvonne Berry, left, of Portland, and Wendy Keeler, of Cape Elizabeth, gather with protestors across the street from Sen. Susan Collins' office to urge Sen. Collins to vote no on the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh on September 28, 2018 in Portland, Maine. Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) was crucial in getting the committee to agree to an additional week of investigations into accusations of sexual assault against Kavanaugh before the full Senate votes. A day earlier the committee heard from Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford, a California professor who has accused Kavnaugh of sexually assaulting her during a party in 1982 when they were high school students in suburban Maryland. (Photo by Sarah Rice/Getty Images)PORTLAND, ME - SEPTEMBER 28: Emily Figdor with Move On, left, chants with protestors gathered across the street from Sen. Susan Collins' office to urge Sen. Collins to vote no on the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh on September 28, 2018 in Portland, Maine. Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) was crucial in getting the committee to agree to an additional week of investigations into accusations of sexual assault against Kavanaugh before the full Senate votes. A day earlier the committee heard from Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford, a California professor who has accused Kavnaugh of sexually assaulting her during a party in 1982 when they were high school students in suburban Maryland. (Photo by Sarah Rice/Getty Images)PORTLAND, ME - SEPTEMBER 28: Protestors gather across the street from Sen. Susan Collins' office to urge Sen. Collins to vote no on the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh on September 28, 2018 in Portland, Maine. Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) was crucial in getting the committee to agree to an additional week of investigations into accusations of sexual assault against Kavanaugh before the full Senate votes. A day earlier the committee heard from Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford, a California professor who has accused Kavnaugh of sexually assaulting her during a party in 1982 when they were high school students in suburban Maryland. (Photo by Sarah Rice/Getty Images)PORTLAND, ME - SEPTEMBER 28: Kali Bird Isis of Portland participates in a sit-in in Sen. Susan Collins' office on September 28, 2018 in Portland, Maine. Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) was crucial in getting the committee to agree to an additional week of investigations into accusations of sexual assault against Kavanaugh before the full Senate votes. A day earlier the committee heard from Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford, a California professor who has accused Kavnaugh of sexually assaulting her during a party in 1982 when they were high school students in suburban Maryland. (Photo by Sarah Rice/Getty Images)PORTLAND, ME - SEPTEMBER 28: Women participate in a sit-in in Sen. Susan Collins' office to urge Sen. Collins to vote no on the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh on September 28, 2018 in Portland, Maine. Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) was crucial in getting the committee to agree to an additional week of investigations into accusations of sexual assault against Kavanaugh before the full Senate votes. A day earlier the committee heard from Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford, a California professor who has accused Kavnaugh of sexually assaulting her during a party in 1982 when they were high school students in suburban Maryland. (Photo by Sarah Rice/Getty Images)
PORTLAND, ME - SEPTEMBER 28: A protestor holds up an anti-Kavanaugh sign during a gathering across the street from Sen. Susan Collins' office to urge Sen. Collins to vote no on the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh on September 28, 2018 in Portland, Maine. Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) was crucial in getting the committee to agree to an additional week of investigations into accusations of sexual assault against Kavanaugh before the full Senate votes. A day earlier the committee heard from Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford, a California professor who has accused Kavnaugh of sexually assaulting her during a party in 1982 when they were high school students in suburban Maryland. (Photo by Sarah Rice/Getty Images)
Rubio, however, concluded that there was still no reason to vote against Kavanaugh.
“I will not vote against the nomination of someone who I am otherwise inclined to support and in the process add credence to charges which have already done permanent damage to his reputation, on the basis of allegations for which there is no independent corroboration and which are at odds with everything else we have heard about his character,” he said.
Nelson’s decision to finally announce his position on Kavanaugh comes after weeks of criticism from Scott. Scott, who had backed Kavanaugh before the allegations surfaced, criticized Nelson on Twitter and said that he was doing what “party leaders told you to do.”
In a statement, Scott called the testimony of both Ford and Kavanaugh “convincing” but said the nomination should be confirmed.
“I think both of these people have been used and abused as pawns in a partisan Washington political theater, which is clearly the product of career politicians playing games at the expense of these individuals’ lives and reputations,” Scott said. “I don’t know what happened 36 years ago in suburban Maryland. The truth is that none of us really know. So, I have to go with what I do know — Judge Kavanaugh has been a fair and brilliant judge.”
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