Florida Democrats aren't holding back when it comes to U.S. Sen. Rick Scott voting against a $95 billion package of aid to Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan.
Despite the nuance in Scott's "no" vote against what he called "a perfect example of this broken way of doing business that has become the norm in Washington," the opposition party is painting it as an abrogation of his foreign policy duty, a position led by his likely opponent in November's Senate race.
"Today is not the first, but the SECOND time this year that Rick Scott has voted against aiding our Democratic allies in Israel and Ukraine to further the interests of Putin and China," said Debbie Mucarsel-Powell.
"Floridians are tired of the extremism and the dysfunction in Washington — and by refusing to support our allies fighting to protect democracy, Rick Scott has proven once again that he is the prime example of that dysfunction. Rick Scott is a threat to our national security and our country, and Floridians are ready to hold him accountable for his extremist stances."
Whether Floridians are ready to hold Scott "accountable" is an open question, given a recent Florida Atlantic University poll of the hypothetical General Election battle shows Scott up 15 points over Mucarsel-Powell, a former House member.
That said, the Florida Democratic Party's spokesperson offered a pared-down version of the same talking points Tuesday night.
"Self-serving Rick Scott has again put American's security at risk just to score political points. By putting politics over national security, Scott is playing right into the hands of America's adversaries and voters will hold him accountable in November."
Scott's objections, as stated on the Senate floor, were rooted in the bill's inability to be amended and its bundling of a Ukraine poison pill among issues he supports.
"If given the opportunity to vote on these issues independently, as the House did, I would vote to support aid for Israel with strong safeguards, as I have in the Senate multiple times — all of which have been blocked by Democrats prior to this vote," Scott said Tuesday.
"I would vote to ban TikTok unless we see a total divestment from it by entities controlled by Communist China. I would vote to sanction the evil regime in Iran. I would vote to support aid for Taiwan so it can fend off threats of invasion by Communist China. And I would vote for the REPO Act, which allows for the confiscation of Russian assets and I am proud to cosponsor, while opposing the fact that this bill allows President (Joe) Biden to send billions of U.S. taxpayer dollars in unaccountable aid to Ukraine, including billions to pay the salaries of Ukrainian politicians."
The Senator seemed to anticipate his opposition weaponizing the vote.
"While some politicians will claim that the bill before the Senate today is some magic bullet that will restore order and protect democracy across the world, we know that's a lie," Scott added.
"Most bills have some good policy, this one is no different. However, I cannot bring myself to look the other way and vote for policies that will in many ways prolong the suffering that Biden's weakness and appeasement have caused for Americans and our friends and allies around the world every day."
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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