Sen. Marco Rubio will miss a key Senate vote on defense spending Tuesday so that he can continue campaigning in New Hampshire, a Rubio spokesman told CNN.
Rubio will not be present for the Senate’s vote on the annual National Defense Authorization Act. The bill needs 60 votes to advance and the vote is expected to be close.
Rubio spokesman Alex Borgos, who works in his Senate office, said Rubio will submit a statement for the record on the bill, which will be made public.
Rubio has said that he will “do everything possible to be” present for any vote “where my vote is going to make a difference or an issue of major national significance or importance.”
“But I am going to miss votes, I’m running for president,” Rubio said Monday on CNBC. “When I miss a vote, it’s not because I’m out playing golf. We’re out campaigning for the future of America where I believe I can make more of a difference as president than I could as a senator.”
Rubio has the worst voting attendance record of any other senator for 2015, a fact that GOP presidential foe Donald Trump has been hammering home in recent weeks.
The left was quick to seize on Rubio’s absence. Less than an hour after it was reported that Rubio would miss the vote, the left-aligned PAC American Bridge 21st Century blasted out an email to reporters mocking Rubio with a satirical “missing” poster highlighting his poor voting record.
“It’s no secret why Rubio is playing hooky,” wrote press secretary Preston Maddock. “He’s shirking his duties to his constituents in Florida to further his personal political ambitions.”