Rubio salutes each of his interns, formally

By Judy Kurtz - 10/19/11 07:44 PM ET

Cue the awwws, — Sen. Marco Rubio hearts his interns so much, he gives them formal shout-outs.

We have discovered that the Florida Republican puts personal tributes for each of his interns into the official Congressional Record.

Here’s one example of Rubio’s devotion to the coffee-making, copy machine-using crowd: “Mr. President, today I recognize Nicholas, a summer intern in my Washington, D.C., office, for all of the hard work he has done for me, my staff and the people of the state of Florida.”

The junior senator even goes into detail about each of his interns, describing Nicholas as a “rising senior pursuing a major in political science and a minor in history … He is a dedicated and diligent worker.”

He said of another intern, “I would like to extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Maggie for all the fine work she has done and wish her continued success in the years to come.”

When ITK asked Rubio about the unusual gesture, he replied, “I thought everybody did that. I didn’t realize it was a unique thing for us.”

Rubio says he laments not getting more face-time and personal interaction with the college-aged crew that works for him, so honoring them is a way of showing his support for their work: “I want to encourage them to continue in public service … I think we need to have more people care and view our republic as a valid way to serve their country and make a difference.”