Sen. Marco Rubio will vote against the bipartisan deal Senators reached to end the government shutdown, a spokesman confirms.

The deal, which keeps the government open through Jan. 15 and gives the Treasury authority to borrow money through Feb. 7, has enough support to pass the Senate.

“I cannot support this deal because it postpones any significant action on pro-growth and spending reforms and does nothing to provide working class Americans even one shred of relief from ObamaCare’s harmful effects,” Rubio said in a statement. “Until we tackle the real threats to the American Dream, we are going to continue finding ourselves in these kinds of messes.  America is better than this, and the American people deserve better.”

Florida Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson will vote yes, and went on the Senate floor this afternoon to praise a “glimmer” of hope that the two parties could continue to work together on longer-term budget issues. “I am grateful that we have this agreement … I am hopeful, albeit cautious that we can avoid this again with good public policy,” he said.

Rubio’s position was not unexpected; he has voted against short-term deals before, though he said he would have if it defunded Obamacare, an option that was never had enough support.

Rubio joined with Sens. Ted Cruz and Mike Lee in pushing to tie an effort to kill Obamacare through the budget process, a move other Republicans said, correctly, was doomed to fail. “I hope we’ve learned that we shouldn’t get behind a strategy that cannot succeed,” Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., told reporters today.

But the move endeared Rubio to conservatives, many whom are still unhappy with his role in the Senate immigration reform bill. But Rubio dialed it back as the shutdown began, focusing on other issues.

Today, Cruz vowed to continue the fight but said he would not try to hold up the vote. Rubio said likewise.

Click here for the story in Tampa Bay Times

Rubio opposes Senate deal; Nelson supports | Tampa Bay Times
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