Rick Scott calls for greater Senate GOP involvement in debt ceiling fight
Samantha-Jo Roth
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Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) said Thursday that every Republican senator should be active in getting a debt ceiling deal across the finish line, as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and this team have taken a backseat in negotiations to let the newly empowered House Republican majority try to resolve the impasse with the White House.
“Our job right now is to put forward our ideas, but we do have a plan that came out of the House,” Scott said in an interview with Fox News on Thursday, emphasizing that Republicans should be coalescing around House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) as he prepares to meet with President Joe Biden and top congressional leaders to discuss the debt limit on May 9.
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“Then, let’s improve it,” Scott added. “We should be part of this. It’s going to take 60 votes in the Senate, the majority of the House, and Joe Biden to sign something. So, we all need to be active in getting something done.”
Scott’s comments Thursday come as McConnell has so far distanced himself from next week’s negotiations, emphasizing that a deal would need to be worked out between Biden and McCarthy. While McConnell intends to attend the meeting, he ended any speculation on what kind of role he intends to play in negotiations.
“There is no solution in the Senate,” the Kentucky Republican said during a press conference on Tuesday. “The president and the speaker need to reach an agreement to get us past this impasse. That’s my message going down to the White House meeting.”
Time is running out for government leaders to reach a deal as they scramble to avoid a default on the country’s loans if Congress does not raise its self-imposed $31.4 trillion debt ceiling by June 1, the date Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen predicted earlier this week. A prominent economist testified before the Senate Budget Committee on Thursday that the “X-date” could be June 8 but also admitted June 1, the date floated by Yellen this week, could be a “worst-case scenario.” The United States has been using “extraordinary measures” to pay the bills after hitting the borrowing limit in January.
A group of 19 Senate Republicans held a press conference on Wednesday, criticizing Biden and Senate Democrats for refusing to negotiate with Republicans earlier, pointing out that the meeting next week will mark the first time McCarthy and Biden have met to discuss the debt ceiling since Feb. 1. The press conference, organized by Scott’s office in coordination with Senate GOP leadership, emphasized the conference was united in allowing McCarthy to take a leading role in negotiations.
“We are here to support what Kevin McCarthy is trying to do,” Scott said at the press conference on Wednesday, a similar message conveyed by every senator who spoke at the news conference.
At the time, Scott did not detail any criticism of how McConnell and his team were handling negotiations. He has still stopped short of overtly criticizing McConnell’s strategy, but the Florida Republican’s dissatisfaction has been implied. Scott emphasizes how he contributed to discussions taking place among the House Freedom Caucus, which played a major role in shaping the framework for the legislation that was recently passed narrowly by the House.
“What we did is started having weekly dinners with the Freedom Caucus back in January; we did it every week we both were in session, with the six of us up here on the Republican side of the Senate,” Scott said in the Fox News interview, alluding to the so-called Breakfast Club, which consists of Sens. Scott, Ron Johnson (R-WI), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Mike Lee (R-UT), Mike Braun (R-IN), and Rand Paul (R-KY).
“We said we want to come up with something that we can vote for. Most of us had never voted for a debt ceiling. I don’t think any of us had, but we want to do this in a responsible manner,” he added.
The feud between McConnell and Scott isn’t exactly new. Scott challenged McConnell in a leadership election last year but lost 37-10, with one senator voting present. The Florida senator has repeatedly defended his decision to challenge McConnell for Senate Republican leader as an exercise in defending conservative values. Scott, who led the Senate GOP’s campaign arm, and McConnell repeatedly clashed over midterm election strategy last cycle as the party lost a seat despite expectations of gains.
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Scott has yet to endorse former President Donald Trump’s third run for the White House, but the two are cordial, and Trump encouraged Scott to run against McConnell last year. As McCarthy heads into the high-stakes meetings with congressional leaders next week, Scott recommends the House speaker remember the goal.
“He’s got to talk about what he’s trying to do for the American public. This is not for you or me. I mean, it’s up to the citizens. It’s for every American,” Scott explained. “We’ve got to balance the budget, live within our means, [and] get this inflation under control.”