“Give him a break, he’s got to cover,” Nelson responded. “Just wait until they get to the details, they’ll hammer it out. Remember, he had to go on Rush Limbaugh and start convincing Rush Limbaugh, who as recently as last Monday said, ‘No way, Jose.’ And as a result, Marco was successful.”

Nelson was referencing Rubio’s appearance on Limbaugh’s conservative talk radio program Tuesday, in which Limbaugh lavished him with praise for his work on the issue — though was less praiseworthy of the actual plan itself. Nelson also praised Rubio.

“My colleague Marco Rubio, who I think has taken a very courageous stand — he is now at the forefront, one of the leaders, who is going to give the cover to a lot of the Republicans who had taken the opposite position.”