PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. – Florida’s two senators voted to acquit former President Donald Trump on Saturday. Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) stood alongside 41 of their Senate GOP colleagues, voting along party lines. The final tally was 57-43, with seven Republicans joining all 50 Democrats.
In a lengthy statement, which Rubio released after the vote, he said that the attack on Jan. 6 was “not only unpatriotic, it was un-American.” Rubio took issue, however, with the idea of impeachment. “Impeachment exists for one principal reason: to remove from office and office holder guilty of wrongdoing.”
Recommended Videos
He went on throughout the statement to say that he believed voting for impeachment would set a precedent and lashed out at Democrats in accusations that the purpose of the trial was directly related to “tar and feather” . . . those who supported Trump.
The attack on 6 Jan was a crime & a disgrace
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) February 13, 2021
But the Senate does not have the Constitutional power to convict a former government official no longer in office. https://t.co/SSkD7sNvnG
Also calling out those on the other side of the aisle, Scott said that the trial was “political theater” and blamed Democrats for pushing aside the serious issues facing the nation to focus on “an unconstitutional impeachment trial.”
Scott said “It’s time to get back to work for the American people,” while accentuating the actions he had said he had taken “while Democrats attempted to stop the Senate’s work.” He also listed issues that he will hold “the Biden Administration accountable” for, from a $15 minimum wage proposal to the President’s failure to call Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
It’s time to get back to work for the American people. pic.twitter.com/z5y6dkjml5
— Rick Scott (@SenRickScott) February 13, 2021
The Associated Press reported that the outcome of Saturday’s vote and how GOP senators voted proves that the Republican party still belongs to Donald Trump.
The story cited recent polls that showed Trump’s stronghold on Republican voters.
Gallup reported last month that Trump’s approval among self-described Republicans stood at 82%. And more recently, Monmouth University found that 72% of Republicans continue to believe Trump’s false claims that President Joe Biden won the November election only because of widespread voter fraud.