Rick Scott uses spending fight to strike out at McConnell

Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) says that the 45-day continuing resolution passed in the House of Representatives over the weekend was a win and prevented the Senate GOP leadership from caving to Senate Democrats.

Scott, in an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal, wrote that the current House GOP leadership fight after Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) was ousted from the speakership should not distract from the stopgap bill that separated Ukraine aid out of the legislation to fund the government for 45 days. He puts the blame on Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Senate Republican leadership for usually caving on spending bills.

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“The normal game plan for the establishment Senate leadership has been to keep everyone — especially fiscal conservatives — in the dark and then cave in to the Democrats at the last minute. Not this time. The establishment lost, and the result was great news for taxpayers,” Scott wrote.

Scott also conceded that while the stopgap bill “wasn’t a perfect win,” it was a step in the right direction for the GOP and said it forced “Congress to consider, debate and pass appropriations bills the way we are supposed to.”

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“The battle before us won’t be easy. Senate Republican leadership has allowed massive spending bills to happen every year since I came to the Senate in 2019. While the U.S. population is up 1.8% in that time, the federal budget has grown 55% and debt has exploded from $22 trillion to more than $33 trillion. Prices have also skyrocketed under Joe Biden, up more than 17%. Interest rates are up and the American Dream is getting further out of reach,” Scott wrote.

The Florida Republican also called on voters to hold their elected members of Congress accountable for how they pass spending bills, using the recently passed stopgap as an example of a better way to pass budget bills.

“If you are as fed up as I am, make sure to hold your elected leaders accountable and tell them to start passing balanced budgets,” Scott wrote. “Tell them you expect them to do what every American family does and stop spending more than we have so we can stop inflation and high interest rates. Tell them to work with their conservative colleagues in the other chamber and not to support another massive inflation-bomb spending bill.”

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Scott unsuccessfully challenged McConnell for minority leader in 2022 after the GOP underperformed in the midterm elections. He lost to McConnell 37-10, but it was the first time a Senate leadership race had been contested since 1996.

The Florida Republican is seeking a second term in the Senate in 2024 after being narrowly elected in 2018. His 2024 Senate race is rated as “likely Republican” by the Cook Political Report.