Rick Scott, quoting Conor McGregor, says he will ‘apologize to absolutely nobody’
In a defiant speech to an audience of rank-and-file conservatives from across the country, Rick Scott on Thursday defended his failed attempt last year to unseat Mitch McConnell as the U.S. Senate GOP leader, arguing that McConnell and other longtime Republicans in Washington too often “caved” to Democrats.
“In the infamous words of Conor McGregor, I’d like to apologize to absolutely nobody,” said Scott, referring to the MMA fighter while speaking on the main stage at the Conservative Political Action Conference near Washington, D.C., an annual gathering of Republican leaders and conservatives.
Scott, who is seeking reelection next year, used his nearly 20-minute speech to criticize a laundry list of liberal priorities and President Joe Biden, arguing he was destroying the country. But his harshest criticism might have been saved for fellow GOP colleagues, giving new life to an ongoing feud between Scott and McConnell that erupted last year and potentially marred the party’s election efforts in the Senate.
Taking on McConnell in the leadership election was an “unpardonable sin in Washington,” Scott said.
“Everybody in Washington said I’m nuts. I might be,” the senator said. “But we cannot put up with this BS anymore.”
The Florida Republican cited the support of some Republicans for a handful of Biden-backed initiatives during his first two years in office, including the $1.2 trillion infrastructure law in 2021 and a bill aimed at gun violence in schools, both of which passed Congress with bipartisan support.
“In each of these instances, the establishment leader from our own Republican Party caved in and gave Democrats a chance to nail down victory after victory and pass dangerous left-wing policy,” Scott said.
READ MORE: Rick Scott soldiers on after failed efforts to reclaim the Senate and topple McConnell
Scott’s rocky relationship with McConnell and other GOP leaders in Washington worsened late last year, after Republicans failed to win a Senate majority in the 2022 midterm elections. Some GOP allies close to McConnell blamed Scott, who was head of the Senate GOP’s political arm, for releasing a controversial policy agenda earlier in the year that put the party’s candidates on the defensive, and accused him of mismanaging the party’s spending on elections.
The GOP’s failure in last year’s election was seen as a hindrance to his leadership bid, which he lost decisively to McConnell. He also said earlier this year that he was removed from serving on the Senate Commerce Committee in a move of retribution from McConnell.
On Thursday, Scott said he hoped his failed bid “was not the end of something, but the beginning of something.”
READ MORE: Rick Scott to run for reelection in Senate, skip presidential campaign
Scott’s speech was well-received in the room at CPAC, a gathering of hard-right conservatives where McConnell is not popular. The venue has traditionally been a regular event for future GOP presidential candidates, although Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, widely seen as a future presidential candidate, conspicuously decided to skip it this year.
Asked if he had spoken to DeSantis about a potential White House run, Scott said in an interview after his speech that the two men hadn’t talked.
“There’s gonna be a lot of people get into the race,” Scott said. “I wish him the best of luck.”
This story was originally published March 2, 2023 at 5:45 PM.