Over the past year, Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) has become the biggest thorn in Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s side.
Francis Chung/POLITICO
“Petty retribution can be a dangerous pattern in this place, particularly with a small body,” Cruz said in an interview, referring to the removal of Scott from the Commerce panel. “There’s an old proverb: when you look for revenge, you better dig two graves.”
McConnell denies removing Scott and Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) from the Commerce Committee over their opposition to him as leader, but he is still slamming the Floridian’s personal policy portfolio nearly a year after its release. In public remarks last week, McConnell lashed Scott for a proposal that he sees as fuel for Democratic campaigns next year: “Unfortunately, that was the Scott plan. That’s not a Republican plan.”
It’s fair to say the animosity goes both ways.
“Who does really well with what we’ve been doing, just spending money like it’s going out of style? The elites do, people who make money off of the government do. Wall Street makes money,” Scott said this week. “Who doesn’t like my plan? Those people.”
While standing behind his plan, Scott also raised eyebrows last week when he introduced a new bill preventing cuts to Medicare and Social Security.
And that’s not the end of the diss track.
McConnell warned last week that Scott’s own agenda would become a “challenge” when the former Florida governor stands for reelection. Scott won narrowly in 2018, ousting former Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), though the state has moved to the right in the last four years.
“He’s gonna win. He’s won three statewide races already,” said fellow Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio. “I don’t think he’s going to have a problem winning reelection.”
Then Rubio acknowledged what’s abundantly clear: “Obviously, there’s some friction there” between McConnell and Scott.
Indeed, the GOP senators’ ongoing back-and-forth is creating plenty of intrigue — particularly given how taciturn McConnell usually is. As Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) put it: “He’s a pretty patient guy, but occasionally even Mitch McConnell has a right to stand up for himself. That’s what I think he’s doing.”
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) departs a Senate Rules and Administration Committee meeting at the U.S. Capitol Feb. 13, 2023.