U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., continued his fight for student loan reform on Wednesday. Rubio announced he was backing a bill from U.S. Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, and U.S. Sen. Richard Burr which would streamline federal student loan repayment. The bill also has the support of U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, R-Va. Rubio and Warner teamed up last year in pushing a bill reforming student loan repayments based on income, but the King-Burr proposal would also include set repayment rates as well.

Florida House Speaker Pro Tempore Matt Hudson, R-Naples, announced on Wednesday that he will run for the Florida Senate seat currently held by Sen. Garrett Richter, R-Naples, who faces term limits in 2016.

Today I officially filed paperwork to become a candidate for the Florida Senate, said Hudson. In the Senate, I promise to stand up for the same conservative principals as I have in the Florida House.

One of the leading Republicans on international affairs took to the floor of the U.S. House on Wednesday to attack President Barack Obamas call to normalize relations with Cuba. U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., currently the chairwoman of the House Middle Eastern and North Africa Subcommittee, ripped into Obamas policy in the following speech:

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to strongly oppose the December 17th announcement by President Obama on policy changes toward the Cuban communist regime.

From his perch on the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio ripped into Islamic extremists for the terrorist attack in Paris at the Charlie Hebdo magazine office.

Even as former Gov. Jeb Bush, R-Fla., draws closer to running for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016, he is drawing heavy fire from the right.

Bush announced last month that he was exploring a presidential bid. On Tuesday, Bush launched the Right to Rise leadership PAC to prepare for entering the fray.But the former Florida governor was attacked on the right on Wednesday as Constitutional Rights PAC, a libertarian-leaning group, launched petitions and an End Jeb 2016 website.

U.S. Rep. Curt Clawson, R-Fla., voted on Tuesday for U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., to be speaker of the House.

Clawson explained his vote after U.S. House Speaker John Boehner kept the gavel.

After his last-minute bid to oust U.S. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, fell short on Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Dan Webster, R-Fla., insisted he launched his effort to ensure Republicans pushed a principled agenda in Congress.

Five Republican congressmen from Florida were at the center of the conservative attempt to oust House Speaker John Bohener, R-Ohio, from leadership and two of them are now paying the price.

Boehner moved swiftly against U.S. Rep. Rich Nugent, R-Fla., and U.S. Rep. Dan Webster, R-Fla., tossing the two Florida Republicans off of the Rules Committee. Webster had emerged as the chief threat to Boehner, winning 12 votes against the speaker.

Politico has the details.

U.S. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, will keep the gavel but his continued efforts to lead the House drew the opposition of 25 Republican congressmen on Tuesday, including five from the Sunshine State.

The two leaders of the Florida Legislature -- Senate President Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando, and House Speaker Steve Crisafulli, R-Merritt Island -- weighed in on Tuesday, offering their takes on Gov. Rick Scotts inaugural and looked ahead to the legislative tasks to come.