Trump ally Rick Scott gets in race to replace Mitch McConnell as Senate GOP leader

Florida U.S. Sen. Rick Scott announced Wednesday that he is making a bid to replace Mitch McConnell as Senate GOP leader, challenging more established Republican senators who are vying for the job.

"I have decided to run for Senate Republican leader because I believe now is a moment we need dramatic change," Scott said in a letter to colleagues.

Scott criticized how the Senate has operated in recent years, saying "there have been far too many backroom deals cut in secret." He also said Republican leadership in the Senate has been too willing to work with Democrats.

"We often take votes that divide us and unite Democrats," Scott wrote. "Republicans all across America want the Republicans they elected to the U.S. Senate to stop caving in to Democrat demands."

Scott is a former hospital company executive and two-term Florida governor who won his Senate seat in 2018 and is up for reelection this year. He is close to former President Donald Trump, recently appearing at his New York City trial, and has butted heads with McConnell in recent years, unsuccessfully challenging him for the leadership job in 2022.

McConnell, 82, announced in April that he was stepping down from his leadership position later this year. That has set off a scramble among Senate Republicans to replace him.

The GOP is currently the minority party in the Senate, but it has a favorable campaign backdrop this November to win back a majority that would make the job Scott is running for an even more powerful position for controlling the chamber's agenda.

Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and John Thune of South Dakota already have announced their campaigns to be GOP Senate leader. Both served on McConnnell's leadership team.

Scott, meanwhile, has been a thorn in the side of the Senate's GOP leadership. McConnell rebuked Scott over a plan the Florida senator put out that was interpreted by some as raising taxes for some low income individuals and potentially ending Social Security and Medicare, something Scott disputed, by calling for all federal programs to sunset unless they are periodically reapproved by Congress.

“Let me tell you what would not be a part of our agenda,” McConnell said of Scott's plan. “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.”

Scott later formally amended his proposal to clarify that neither Medicare or Social Security would end under his plan.

The Florida senator led the National Republican Senatorial Committee during the 2022 election cycle, which saw Republicans lose big races. Yet he has emerged as a key figure among the more conservative faction of the Senate GOP conference and could draw support from senators who are closely aligned with Trump.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump ally Rick Scott running to lead Senate GOP in 2025