Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) in a new op-ed accuses “establishment” Republican leaders of not having a vision for the party and “routinely caving in” to Democrats.
“The old Washington establishment Republican path of never having a vision is over, it’s dying. A new wave of bold and aggressive Republicans who will stand up and fight is demanding change from our leaders in Washington. It is happening, and it will happen. Count on it,” Scott said in an op-ed published Tuesday in the Washington Examiner.
Scott mounted a last-minute bid earlier this month to challenge Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) for the role of top GOP leader in the Senate, and said he did so because of dissatisfaction with the party’s establishment.
“I ran for Senate leader because the current plan of routinely caving in and allowing [Senate Majority Leader] Schumer and [President] Biden to win must stop and because we must become a party with a plan to rescue America,” Scott wrote.
McConnell beat Scott 37-10 in a closed-door vote within the party.
The Florida senator defended his “Rescue America” plan, a proposal which came under scrutiny for suggesting that Medicare and Social Security should be sunset every five years as a way to increase congressional oversight.
“Yes, I put out a plan of ideas, and I don’t regret it one bit. Yes, one of them suggested sunsetting laws after five years — noting that if a law is worth keeping, Congress can pass it again. Washington has spent decades exploding the size of our government and wasting money, and it must be stopped,” Scott said.
Many in the GOP kept their distance from Scott’s plan and embraced a midterm policy proposal that appeared more supportive of the federal entitlement programs.
Scott said he’d originally pitched the op-ed to The Washington Post, where he says several criticisms against his Rescue America plan were published, but that the paper declined the piece.
“The Washington establishment, in both Congress and the media, is so committed to the status quo that it will do whatever it takes to silence anyone who thinks differently. So much for ‘democracy dies in darkness,’ right?” he added.