Sen. Rick Scott (R-Florida) is seen as the early dark horse in the race to succeed Sen. Mitch McConnell (Ky.) as Senate GOP leader, but he is promoting something that sets him apart from his two rivals: a relationship close personal relationship with former President Trump.
Senate sources say Scott doesn’t have much of a chance of being elected leader if Trump loses to President Biden in November, but if Trump wins a second term, Scott would have a powerful argument to make to colleagues that he would have a direct line. for the president.
“I have known President Trump since before any of us ran for any political office,” Scott told fellow Republicans in a letter Wednesday.
He traveled to New York last week to support Trump in his secret trial in Manhattan, and was the first Republican member of Congress to do so. He also spoke directly to Trump before announcing his candidacy for leadership.
Scott told Fox News that Trump told him he is “excited” about his leadership bid.
“We need radical change. I talked to Trump about this today. He said he’s excited to be entering the race,” he said. “We are going to change the Senate. And we will be the Senate that helps Donald Trump achieve his conservative agenda.”
Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), one of Trump’s closest allies in the Senate, noted that Trump “is around Rick all the time, being from Florida.”
And he pointed out that Trump campaign senior adviser Susie Wiles used to work closely with Scott and helped elect him governor of Florida.
But Tuberville expressed doubts that Trump would intervene in the race.
“I don’t think the president will take sides, to be honest. I really don’t. I know [Trump’s] I spoke to Thune and Cornyn,” he said. “I don’t think he should intervene in this. We are a different group.”
Scott’s rivals for the Senate GOP leadership post, Senate Republicans John Thune (SD) and John Cornyn (Texas), also contacted Trump before announcing their plans to run.
But they also have a history of rejecting some of Trump’s most provocative statements and questioning his electability, especially his appeal to independent and swing voters.
Scott has demonstrated unwavering loyalty to Trump since arriving in the Senate in 2019 and even presented him with the “Champion of Freedom” award on behalf of the National Republican Senatorial Committee when he chaired it in 2021, the first of its kind he has bestowed on anyone.
The closest Scott has come to differing from Trump in his Senate career was urging him to attend Biden’s inauguration in January 2021.
Both Thune and Cornyn emphasized their record of enacting Trump’s agenda while the Senate GOP whips.
Cornyn served as whip during Trump’s first two years in office, helping to enact the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 and confirm conservative justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.
Thune took office in 2019 and helped Trump pass historic COVID-19 relief and confirm conservative judge Amy Coney Barrett.
Thune and Cornyn said Scott’s entry into the race was not a surprise.
“He talked about it. Again, it’s an open race. Anyone who wants to compete has the right to compete. As we all know, it is a small electorate, there are 49 people. We hope [it’s] a few more after the next election, but we all have to go out and present our case to our voters, to our colleagues,” Thune said.
Asked whether a Trump victory would put Scott in a better position to win the race, Thune said, “I don’t know the answer to that.”
“We’ll see what happens with the fall elections. All I know is who the voters are and we have to do everything we can to earn their vote and win them over. I think they will make that decision based on who they think will be the best leader for the conference,” he said.
Cornyn on Thursday didn’t buy into the idea that Scott will be Trump’s running mate.
“My experience is that these races are the best intra-conference races because they are built on trust and relationships within the conference, so I don’t expect it to be any different,” he said.
Both Thune and Cornyn have promised to work closely with Trump if he returns to the White House, something many Republican senators want to see after years of rivalry between Trump and McConnell.
While Trump may not intervene to tilt the leadership race toward one candidate or another, Trump’s relationship with a potential leader could be an important factor in how some Republican senators vote — especially new senators serving their first term or more. newly elected members who are more MAGA-aligned.
“I think we need to come together as a group. We don’t need to continue to divide ourselves and I don’t think we will,” Tuberville said. “I think we need to have a more cohesive group and obviously give [Trump] When he is elected, support as much as we can.”
Tuberville said Scott knows Trump better than Thune and Cornyn.
“I suggested to Cornyn and Thune, ‘Hey, you need to get to know the president and support him,’” he said. “Whoever is the leader will have to work closely with the president because he only has four years, and the first two years will be very crucial.”
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
