Florida Republican Sen. Rick Scott said that he was open to altering his proposed policy agenda released last week, reiterating that it came from him personally, not the Senate GOP, after it was criticized by Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
“I put out some policy ideas. I’m going to keep working on this. There’s going to be things people agree with and don’t agree with,” Scott, the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said in an interview with The Hill. “This is what Rick Scott believes in, it’s not the Republican plan,” he added.
Scott’s plan received almost immediate pushback from Republican leaders, who said that it would invite attacks from Democrats and potentially jeopardize their political momentum ahead of the midterm elections.
McConnell said during his press conference Tuesday that Scott’s plan would “not be part of the Republican Senate majority agenda” if they win back the chamber, and he specifically mentioned his proposal to apply an income tax to every American.
“We will not have as part of our agenda a bill that raises taxes on half the American people and sunsets Social Security and Medicare within five years,” McConnell said. Scott spoke just moments before, but he left the group when McConnell took the podium.
Sen. Rick Scott speaks as Minority Leader Mitch McConnell stares intently during a GOP leadership press conference Tuesday. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
While many say Republicans are the clear favorites to take back the House in November, the outcome of the 50-50 Senate remains far more uncertain.
Republicans are defending a seat in Wisconsin, a state President Joe Biden won, and open seats in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Ohio and Missouri. While the latter two have trended reliably Republican in recent years, Republicans are engaged in expensive and brutal primaries, and both states could ultimately nominate Republican candidates with substantial baggage. (RELATED: Top House Forecaster: Republicans’ Redistricting Advantage Hardly Panned Out)
Democrats, however, are also defending vulnerable incumbents in Nevada, Arizona, Georgia and New Hampshire, which Scott said he sees as pickup opportunities.
“We’re winning in Georgia, we’re winning in Nevada, we have an opportunity in Arizona, we have an opportunity in New Hampshire,” Scott said, The Hill reported. “I think we can defend all 20 of our Republican seats, and I think we’re going to have some sleepers.”
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