Today the Florida Democratic Party released the following statement in response to Senator Marco Rubio’s vote with the Tea Party to send the United States government into default:

“For weeks, Marco Rubio led the charge to hold the economy hostage and shut down the federal government in a vain attempt to make sure millions of Americans could not access to quality, affordable health care,” said FDP Chair Allison Tant. “Last night, after a bipartisan group of Senators brokered a compromise, Marco Rubio doubled down on his reckless, Tea Party fueled temper tantrum and voted to keep the government closed and force America to default on its financial obligations. 

“This government shutdown cost the American economy $24 billion and the default he voted for last night would have ruined the full faith and credit of the United States. Rubio has proven he is more interested in scoring political points with the Tea Party and protecting his potential presidential candidacy than doing what is best for Floridians.”