Rick Scott wants Trump’s help in his bid for Senate GOP leader
U.S. Sen. Rick Scott is making a play for Donald Trump’s endorsement in his bid to become Senate majority leader, hoping that the first Floridian to hold the White House will help make him the first senator from the Sunshine State to serve atop the chamber’s leadership.
Scott, a longtime Trump ally who won reelection last week by more than 1.3 million votes, has cast his effort to succeed U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell as the chamber’s top Republican as a chance to remake a slow-moving legislative body that will be responsible for confirming Trump’s political appointees and enacting key parts of the president-elect’s agenda.
But Scott is facing competition from two other Republican senators — John Cornyn of Texas and John Thune of South Dakota — both of whom have served in the Senate far longer than Scott and have prior experience in the chamber’s GOP leadership.
Still, Scott is hoping that his years-long alliance with Trump will pay off on Wednesday when Senate Republicans hold a secret-ballot election for their next leader.
“I’ve been talking to my Republican colleagues. Guess what? They want change,” Scott said in an interview on Fox Business’ “Sunday Morning Futures.” “They know that Trump has a mandate. They want to be part of that mandate. They want to be treated as equals. They want to be part of a team. They want to have a working relationship with the House. They know I got a great working relationship with Trump, with [House Speaker] Mike Johnson.”
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Trump hasn’t made an endorsement in the race for Senate Republican leader. A spokesperson for the former and future president did not respond to the Miami Herald’s request for comment on the majority leader race or whether he planned to back a candidate.
Scott said on Sunday that he had been in touch with Trump about the Senate leadership race, noting that he already won the president-elect’s support for the post once before in 2022 when Scott lost a longshot challenge to McConnell, who has served as the chamber’s GOP leader since 2007.
“He supported me when I ran against McConnell two years ago. I’m hoping he’ll support me this time,” Scott said on Fox Business. “But he’s doing the right thing right now. He won his race. So we’re texting back and forth. I’m going to do everything I can to make sure his agenda gets accomplished.”
READ MORE: Rick Scott says he’ll make another run for Senate GOP leader after loss to McConnell
Trump hasn’t remained entirely silent on the leadership race. He insisted on Sunday that any Republican who wants the job would have to agree to fast-track appointments to his administration and the courts by allowing him to name people to senior administration positions without Senate confirmation.
“Any Republican Senator seeking the coveted LEADERSHIP position in the United States Senate must agree to Recess Appointments (in the Senate!), without which we will not be able to get people confirmed in a timely manner,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
Scott quickly agreed to the former and future president’s demand, writing on the social media site X that he “will do whatever it takes to get your nominations through as quickly as possible.” Thune and Cornyn also chimed in on the matter, saying that they were both open to doing the same.
While Trump hasn’t given his blessing to any one candidate, Scott has already amassed the support of several of the president-elect’s most prominent allies, including billionaire Elon Musk and conservative media personality Tucker Carlson, who in a post on X called Scott “the only candidate who agrees with Donald Trump.”
A handful of Scott’s Senate colleagues have also come out in support of his leadership bid. That includes Florida’s other U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, who is also seen as a top contender for a role in the incoming Trump administration.
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Scott also has ties to some of the most influential figures in Trump’s orbit, most notably Susie Wiles, the longtime Florida Republican operative who was tapped last week to serve as the president-elect’s White House chief of staff. Wiles previously managed Scott’s successful 2010 bid for Florida governor.
Asked in an interview on “Fox & Friends” Monday morning about his prospects of securing the Senate leadership post, Scott said he was confident that he has the support of Trump and his team, even if the president-elect doesn’t publicly make an endorsement in the race.
“I’m going to work hard,” Scott said. “I believe I’m going to win because I represent exactly what the Trump team wants and what Trump wants and what the American public wants.”
This story was originally published November 11, 2024 at 1:07 PM.