Marco Rubio pays tribute to Jose Fernandez on the Senate floor

Marco Rubio paid tribute to late Marlins star Jose Fernandez on the Senate floor Tuesday.

Marco Rubio paid tribute to late Marlins star Jose Fernandez on the Senate floor Tuesday.

Rubio took over the floor and delivered a prepared speech of about 10 minutes on Fernandez’s impact on his community and his desire for a better life in America. He said that despite the fact that neither he nor most of Miami had never met Fernandez, they felt like they knew him.

“This young man meant a lot to a lot of us for different reasons and different ways,” Rubio said. “And now, just as quickly as he came into our lives, just as he was coming into his own and really, starting to fulfill his athletic potential, and just as we were really getting to know him, he is gone.”

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Fernandez was killed in a boating accident on Sunday morning along with his two friends. He was 24.

– Kenny Ducey