Rubio Blasts MIA Obama on Budget; Senate GOP Bloc Fractures

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio blasted President Barack Obama for being "absolutely absent" from the Senate debate over the budget.

"He is nowhere to be found. He refuses to engage," Rubio told Miami radio station WIOD Thursday morning.

"This is a president that as a senator, as a candidate, and early on in his presidency, repeatedly said that he was going to make the tough choices, get involved, get engaged, deal with this pressing issue that faces our country. He has completely disengaged from this issue, and he assigned Joe Biden to negotiate it for him, and then sent Joe Biden to Russia," Rubio said.

The Senate on Wednesday voted down a GOP proposal to cut $57 billion from current spending.

Three Republicans -- Rand Paul of Kentucky, Mike Lee of Utah and Jim DeMint of South Carolina -- joined Democrats in opposing the measure.

While the Dems said it cut too much, the tea-oriented GOP trio said the proposed reductions didn't go nearly far enough. Rubio voted with the Republican majority.