Republican establishment frontrunner Sen. Marco Rubio skipped Friday’s Senate vote on the massive omnibus spending bill.
Rubio, who routinely misses votes during his presidential campaign, now does not have to shoulder any criticism related to taking a position on the controversial spending package.
Though Rep. Paul Ryan pushed the more than 2,000-page bill through the House with funding for President Obama’s Syrian refugee program and executive amnesty programs, the bill ran into conservative opposition.
Sen. Ted Cruz, a rival of Rubio’s in the presidential race, strongly opposed the bill, saying, “Hell no,” he would not support it.
Had Rubio voted in favor, the contrast between his establishmentarian position and Cruz’s conservative position would have created a stark contrast with just weeks to go until the Iowa caucus.