McConnell vs. Scott: The Senate beef that won't die

Rick Scott suspects he was booted from his preferred committee in an act of retribution by Mitch McConnell — after the Florida senator challenged the longtime GOP leader for his post.

Scott says he’s figured out a novel strategy to deal with the alleged snub: He’s teaming up with another leading McConnell nemesis, Ted Cruz.

“I'm gonna get my stuff done. I work well with Ted Cruz, and he's the ranking member" on the Senate Commerce Committee, Scott said in an interview. “So I’ll just work with him.”

Most of Congress’ intraparty feuds are fleeting, especially when margins of control are as close as they are in the House and Senate these days. Any standoff that lasts longer than a few days risks ceding power to the other party.

But Scott and McConnell's split is going the distance.

Over the past year, Scott has managed to dislodge Cruz as the biggest thorn in McConnell’s side, no small feat. The Florida senator’s performance as chair of the Senate GOP campaign arm and Scott's own competing legislative agenda, which McConnell felt compelled to disavow — has sparked a nearly yearlong row between the two GOP senators.

And it's more than a mere personality conflict for Republicans. Scott’s challenge of McConnell for leader has factionalized the GOP in a manner not seen since Cruz set the table to run for president a decade ago by taking on McConnell every chance he had. McConnell may have easily dispatched Scott — the final tally was 37-10 — but the fact that McConnell now knows 10 Republican senators were ready to oust him has made his job more complicated.

“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.”

Others see things differently.

“The leader’s role is to support incumbent senators. He certainly did it up in Alaska,” said Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), who supported Scott in the leadership fight. “Certainly don’t denigrate them, don’t say anything negative about them. Financial support is one thing, but just verbal support is his responsibility. So, beyond disappointing.”

Scott’s seat is a key cog in the Senate GOP’s plans to win back the majority, and McConnell’s political network is behind him there. Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Scott’s successor at the National Republican Senatorial Committee, is behind Scott. So is the chief McConnell-aligned super PAC — even after it publicly sparred with Scott just a few months ago over campaign strategy.

“Senator Scott has never lost an election in the state of Florida, and 2024 will be no different,” said Torunn Sinclair, a spokesperson for the Senate Leadership Fund.

The imbroglio goes back to McConnell’s decision not to release an agenda ahead of November's midterms, and Scott’s subsequent move to put out his own while running the NRSC. McConnell smarted over the plan, as well as Biden’s concerted attacks linking it to the rest of the party, though on Tuesday he declined to utter Scott’s name.

“This continues to come up. The president was talking about it in the State of the Union. He's taken it out to various states. So let me say one more time. There is no agenda on the part of Senate Republicans to revisit Medicare or Social Security. Period,” McConnell said.

In addition to policy disputes, the clash stems in part from the two Republicans’ divergent views of modern politics. Scott views the attention he gets from Democrats as valuable increased name recognition, and he's raised money off of the loss of his committee assignment. He said in an interview that it’s “great” to see Biden distribute his proposal: “I put out a plan, Biden puts it out. What else could you ask for?”

But McConnell sees things very differently, according to allies. He's studiously avoided releasing any agenda that can be easily pilloried, instead trying to run as a check on Democrats — a strategy that’s had mixed results in his 16 years as Senate GOP leader.

With the party gearing up for another bid to take back the White House and Senate, that means some Republicans are cringing every time Biden brings up Scott.

“It's a problem when you have the president of the United States in his State of the Union saying that Republicans want to get rid of Social Security,” said Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.). Because of Scott, she added, Biden “has a kernel to hold onto. And I think that frustrates McConnell.”