Scott defends proposed GOP agenda in CPAC speech

Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) defended his proposed outline for what Republicans should do if they recapture control of the Senate this year, bucking critics on both sides of the aisle who have knocked the plan since its release earlier this week.

Speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando on Saturday, Scott delivered a tirade against what he described as a “woke” society, saying that Republicans should not be “timid” in their approach to the 2022 midterm elections.

“Based on the way Democrats are attacking me this week, I say we hit the bull’s-eye,” Scott, the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said. “The fight to rescue America from socialism is our fight.”

Scott’s remarks came days after he released a 31-page memo detailing his vision for the Republican agenda should the GOP take back control of the Senate in this year’s midterm elections.

The proposals include making every American pay at least some income tax and completing former construction of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and naming it after former President Trump. 

The proposed agenda received pushback from both Democrats and Republicans, many of whom have sought to make the 2022 midterms a referendum on Democratic control of Washington rather than a vote in favor of the GOP’s vision for the country. 

But Scott, who’s seen as a possible 2024 presidential hopeful or contender for the role of Senate Republican leader, has sought to stake out a reputation as a conservative leader, bypassing the likes of current Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) by introducing a governing agenda.

McConnell has so far declined to release an agenda that he would pursue if the GOP takes back control of the Senate this year.