Rick Scott vindicated by Mitch McConnell’s rejection of Pete Hegseth

Friday night brought a Florida Senator a chance to say “I told you so” when it comes to a Kentucky colleague.

Sen. Rick Scott noted after Mitch McConnell joined two other Republicans in voting against Pete Hegseth for Defense Secretary that the former caucus leader “doesn’t support Donald Trump and he doesn’t support an America First agenda. He never has. It’s why I ran against him for Leader and why I’ll continue to fight for President Trump and his agenda.”

McConnell joined Senators Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, moderates from Maine and Alaska respectively, in creating what would have been a tie had Vice President JD Vance not broken it, in his first such vote as President of the Senate.

Scott says he “knew President Trump made the right choice nominating” Hegseth, who he called a “qualified combat veteran who cares about our troops and will do an incredible job as our Secretary of Defense.”

Meanwhile, the feud continues between Scott and the man he tried to depose as Republican leader back in 2022 even as McConnell is not in power now.

Though Scott ultimately won re-election by the most resounding margin in his political career, polling showed a tighter race. Days before Election Day, the Naples Republican wasn’t shy about noting that McConnell, who controlled a GOP Super PAC, did “nothing” to help him.

“As a matter of fact, with less than two weeks left in a race, he attacks Donald Trump, a Republican nominee, and attacks me when I’m in a competitive race. The two competitive races in the Senate are Ted Cruz’s and my race, and he attacks me and then doesn’t support me financially, and he’s got this gigantic super PAC. So, this is about his power, not about making sure we get a Republican majority.”

McConnell’s memoir blames Scott for losing the Senate majority in 2022, when Republicans were talking up a red wave and Scott was predicting as many as 55 seats could be won.

“I don’t think Rick makes a very good victim,” McConnell said. “I think he did a poor job of running the (Senate campaign) committee.”

During that 2022 cycle, McConnell voiced concerns about “candidate quality” that Scott dismissed.

After the Midterm Elections, when Scott’s promise to flip the Senate Republican went unfulfilled, the Senator mustered just 10 votes in a failed leadership challenge.

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