Ledyard King

USA TODAY NETWORK - FLORIDA

WASHINGTON - No senator has received more of a campaign boost from President Trump’s cabinet nominees than Marco Rubio, according to a watchdog group that tracks political donations.

The Florida Republican and PACs supporting his candidacies for president and Senate have collectively received nearly $503,000 in financial contributions, an analysis from the non-partisan Center for Responsive Politics shows.

The vast majority of that came from newly installed Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and her husband, Dick. They have given $426,000 – $400,000 of that to the Conservative Solutions PAC that was backing Rubio’s ultimately unsuccessful bid for president last year.

Almost all of the rest came from three other prominent nominees (and their families): Andrew Puzder (Labor), $30,600; Wilbur Ross (Commerce), $25,000; and Linda McMahon (Small Business Administration), $10,800), according to the analysis. All three are awaiting confirmation.

Trailing right behind Rubio on the list of senators that Trump nominees helped the most are Senate Republicans Rob Portman of Ohio ($392,400) and Joni Ernst of Iowa ($123,400). The other three GOP senators who ran for president were far behind: Ted Cruz of Texas, ($45,400), Rand Paul of Kentucky ($23,500), and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina ($10,00).

Rubio joined 49 other GOP senators Tuesday in confirming DeVos Tuesday in a historic vote because it required Republican Vice President Mike Pence to break the tie.

Devos, a wealthy donor and prominent school choice advocate, had been roundly criticized by teachers’ unions and some parents’ groups for her views and lack of experience. In turn, Rubio and other Republicans who received contributions from her have been criticized for supporting her.

A Rubio spokesman responded to the criticism through the senator’s Facebook page.

“People contribute to Senator Rubio's campaign because they support his agenda,” the spokesman said in a post written prior to his confirmation vote. “Ms. DeVos is a strong supporter of empowering parents and providing educational opportunity for all, policies Senator Rubio has supported for over a decade.”

Groups squeeze Nelson on Gorsuch vote

Conservative groups are applying increased pressure in hopes of convincing Florida Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson to back Neil Gorsuch, President Trump’s choice to fill a vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Faith and Freedom Coalition has already begun mailing 75,000 postcards to activists in Florida urging them to call Nelson’s office in support of the nominee: “Don’t Let Senate Democrats and the Radical Left Block President Trump’s Great Supreme Court Justice Nominee, Judge Neil M. Gorsuch.”

Similar mailers are being sent around the country mainly targeting Democratic senators up for re-election next year in states that Trump won, coalition spokesman Lance Lemmonds said. He said the organization plans to follow up with phone banking, emails and texts.

Aside from Florida, the list includes Michigan, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

In addition, the influential Koch network is throwing its weight behind President Trump’s nominee for the Supreme Court. It launched a digital campaign last week, urging senators to confirm Gorsuch and plans to mobilize the network’s 3.2 million activists to put pressure on lawmakers.

Left-leaning groups like People for the American Way are ramping up their own efforts as well.

Nelson has not said whether he plans to support the federal appeals court judge from Colorado whom Trump has nominated to fill the seat of the late Antonin Scalia.

In 2006, the Florida Democrat was in the Senate when it approved Gorsuch’s nomination by President George W. Bush to the appeals court without objection.

But Democrats say a Supreme Court nomination is different. Nelson wants to retain the filibuster rule, which requires that nominees receive at least 60 votes to end debate and proceed to an up-or-down vote. Republicans occupy 52 of the chamber’s 100 seats.

A spokesman for Nelson said the senator has not even decided whether he would be among the 60 votes to advance Gorsuch’s nomination.

“Of course, I’m going to talk to him and listen to the Judiciary Committee hearing,” Nelson said in a recent statement. “But I have real concerns about what I believe are two of the most fundamental rights in our democracy: the right to vote and the right to know who you are voting for. And I specifically want to know how the judge feels about the suppression of voting rights and about the amount of undisclosed, unlimited money in campaigns.”

Rubio calls for civility

On Tuesday, Sen. Marco Rubio voted to silence Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren for impugning the integrity of Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, President Trump’s choice for Attorney General.

Shortly after the divisive debate over punishing Warren, Rubio called for civility in a speech on the Senate floor that seemed aimed at lawmakers – and Americans – from both parties.

“I want people to think about our politics here in America because I’m telling you guys I don't know of a civilization in the history of the world that's been able to solve its problems when half the people in a country absolutely hate the other half of the people in that country,” Rubio said during the nearly eight-minute address.

“This body cannot function if people are offending one another,” he said. “We are becoming a society incapable of having debate anymore.”

Washington Post columnist Chris Cillizza called it “an important address — and one well worth spending eight minutes of your life listening to.”

It’s not the first time Rubio has lamented the loss of civil political discourse. When he was on the presidential campaign trail in March, the Florida Republican told CNN’s Jake Tapper that he was concerned that Donald Trump and others had contributed to the coarsening of public dialogue.

“All the gates of civility have been blown apart, and we have now reached a point where, on both sides, everyone is just saying or doing whatever they want,” he told Tapper. “And, you know, you can't just say or do whatever you want. This is not about political correctness. This is about rules of civility and a way a society talks to each other.”

Trump: Scott a better friend for endorsing him

President Trump really likes people who like him. Take Florida Gov. Rick Scott, who was one of the first major public officials to support Trump’s presidential bid.

Speaking during a visit Monday to the U.S. Central Command at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Fla., the president took a minute to praise Scott and suggest that the governor’s loyalty meant a lot to him.

“Let me recognize our great governor and a very good friend of mine and somebody who endorsed me,” Trump said, according to comments in a media pool report released by the White House. “That makes him a better friend of mine. If they don't endorse, believe me – if you are ever in this position, it's never quite the same. OK? You can talk, but it never means the same.”

Contact Ledyard King atlking@gannett.com; Twitter@ledgeking