Rick Scott officially challenges Mitch McConnell for leadership of Senate Republicans

published 15 November 2022

Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) will officially challenge Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to lead Senate Republicans in the coming legislative term, announcing on Tuesday his intent to unseat the longtime top Republican at Wednesday's party leadership vote.

Last spring Scott, who chairs the National Republican Senatorial Committee, unveiled an 11-point "Plan to Rescue America" that included tax hikes on low-income earners, prompting McConnell to declare that "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. That will not be part of the Republican Senate majority agenda."

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Scott's challenge to McConnell comes on the heels of intense pressure by former President Donald Trump for Republicans to reject the man frequently regarded as one of the most consequential legislators of his generation. "It's Mitch McConnell's fault," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform after last week's midterm losses. "He blew the midterms, and everyone despises him and his otherwise lovely wife, Coco Chow!" He later called Scott "highly underrated" and said he would be a "much better" leader than McConnell.

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Rafi Schwartz has worked as a politics writer at The Week since 2022, where he covers elections, Congress and the White House. He was previously a contributing writer with Mic focusing largely on politics, a senior writer with Splinter News, a staff writer for Fusion's news lab, and the managing editor of Heeb Magazine, a Jewish life and culture publication. Rafi's work has appeared in Rolling Stone, GOOD and The Forward, among others.

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