They have to hobnob at the Capitol (occasionally across party lines) to ensure the country functions or to score political points. But in 2024, they had another responsibility: making good use of their Twitter fingers.
This year, U.S. lawmakers tweeted 628,998 times, according to Quorum, a D.C.-based public affairs company.
Florida's lawmakers, in particular, were quite active in the X-sphere (AKA, the Twitter-sphere). U.S. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, who represents parts of Clearwater and St. Petersburg, was the most active Florida lawmaker on X in 2024, with 5,977 tweets. Sen. Rick Scott was not too far behind, with 5,624 tweets of his own.
Orlando-based Rep. Maxwell Frost was the lone Democrat to crack the list of the top 20 most active legislators on X, with 3,983 tweets. U.S. Secretary of State nominee Marco Rubio, for his part, tweeted 3,230 times.
Here is what the Sunshine State's two senators tweeted about in 2024:
Rick Scott
Evidently, Scott has some beef with Chinese garlic."If the garlic is fine, why is the CCP fighting my request for U.S. officials to investigate if it's grown in sewage?" Scott wrote on December 14. This is EXACTLY why I fought to ban Chinese garlic from being sold in grocery stores on U.S. military bases. You can't trust ANYTHING made in Communist China."
He also went after parrots.If the garlic is fine, why is the CCP fighting my request for U.S. officials to investigate if it’s grown in sewage?
— Rick Scott (@SenRickScott) December 14, 2024
This is EXACTLY why I fought to ban Chinese garlic from being sold in grocery stores on U.S. military bases. You can’t trust ANYTHING made in Communist China. https://t.co/foffG4rMnM
"We are drowning in $36 TRILLION of debt, but the federal government thought it was a great idea to spend $690K on studying romance between parrots???" he tweeted. "This is a disgraceful waste of YOUR TAX DOLLARS!"
And, of course, he had to take a jab at pronouns.We are drowning in $36 TRILLION of debt, but the federal government thought it was a great idea to spend $690K on studying romance between parrots???
— Rick Scott (@SenRickScott) November 19, 2024
This is a disgraceful waste of YOUR TAX DOLLARS! https://t.co/Yhv4FElk8W
"It's time for a president who will prioritize making our military a lethal machine over worrying about changing pronouns," Scott tweeted.
It’s time for a president who will prioritize making our military a lethal machine over worrying about changing pronouns.
— Rick Scott (@SenRickScott) December 9, 2024
Marco Rubio
The Secretary of State nominee had one particular topic on his mind: China. He mentioned it 313 times this year, according to Quorum."China wants to dominate the global supply chain and be the sole supplier of critical goods to other countries. If this happens, there will be consequences felt everywhere. This is 'China Stock 2.0.'"
And another China tweet, for good measure:China wants to dominate the global supply chain and be the sole supplier of critical goods to other countries. If this happens, there will be consequences felt everywhere.
— Senator Marco Rubio (@SenMarcoRubio) September 25, 2024
This is "China Shock 2.0" pic.twitter.com/ncvdo4rfL4
"Communist China's coercive influence in our region is a threat to our national security interests and must be countered. #ExposingTheCCP," Rubio wrote.
But wait, there's more!Communist China’s coercive influence in our region is a threat to our national security interests and must be countered. #ExposingTheCCP https://t.co/jyEbvuQOY6
— Senator Marco Rubio (@SenMarcoRubio) September 19, 2024
"Forced labor. Counterfeit goods. Ties to Communist China," Rubio tweeted. "And the Biden-Harris Admin still hasn't investigated Temu."
Sorry, it is really difficult to find tweets that aren't related to China :/.Forced labor. Counterfeit goods. Ties to Communist China.
— Senator Marco Rubio (@SenMarcoRubio) September 12, 2024
And the Biden-Harris Admin still hasn’t investigated Temu.https://t.co/231ofdLiIG
"CATL battery company has deep ties to Communist China. Our country shouldn't install these batteries anywhere in our nation because of the national security threat it poses," he said. "With @RepMoolenaar, urged @DeptofDefense to blacklist CATL."
On the rare occasion that he wasn't tweeting about China, Rubio was going off about illegal immigrants.CATL battery company has deep ties to Communist China. Our country shouldn't install these batteries anywhere in our nation because of the national security threat it poses.
— Senator Marco Rubio (@SenMarcoRubio) August 28, 2024
With @RepMoolenaar, urged @DeptofDefense to blacklist CATL.https://t.co/FE1XuHmFQu
"The Biden-Harris Administration continues releasing violent illegal immigrants into our streets and into our communities," Rubio tweeted in August.
The Biden-Harris Administration continues releasing violent illegal immigrants onto our streets and into our communities. https://t.co/TBFobiPmwn
— Senator Marco Rubio (@SenMarcoRubio) August 15, 2024
Top Five Most Active Legislators on X
Texas Republican politicians Rep. Chip Roy and Sen. Ted Cruz were chronically online in 2024.Roy came out on top with 9,799 tweets, an average of 26 a day, while Cruz came in second with 9,056 tweets, averaging 24 daily. Nebraska-based Rep. Don Bacon, New York-based Rep. Claudia Tenney, and South Carolina-based Rep. Nancy Mace rounded out the top five.
