ANKENY, Iowa — Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) has proposed former South Carolina Rep. Trey Gowdy as a potential FBI director should he win the 2024 Republican nomination and the White House next year.
"First thing we have to do is fire Joe Biden," Scott said Thursday during a town hall in Ankeny. "The second thing we have to do is fire Merrick Garland from the DOJ. And the third is fire Christopher Wray from the FBI. I would probably ask my good friend Trey Gowdy to take over the FBI."
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Scott has previously suggested Gowdy as a possible Supreme Court justice.
Scott started his town hall of roughly 300 people by underscoring his immigration policy, which includes redirecting funds allocated to the IRS through President Joe Biden's Inflation Reduction Act to the border before transitioning to education and school choice.
"In today's Biden America, socialism is growing in the regulatory state, is growing in our tax system and facets of our lives," he said.
Questions from the crowd ranged from the future of work and the role of technical schools, in addition to his approach to Social Security and Medicare, as well as the FBI, the Department of Education, and early voting.
"We, as Republicans, we missed the momentum that was happening," he said of early voting in 2020.
Scott was introduced by Gov. Kim Reynolds (R-IA), who has annoyed former President Donald Trump by remaining neutral during the primary. She similarly spoke at Gov. Ron DeSantis's (R-FL) opening event in the state as a presidential candidate. DeSantis floated Reynolds as a vice presidential pick in his own Osceola town hall on Thursday.
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"Some of the things I like so much about Sen. Scott is your faith, your optimism in this country, your heart," Reynolds said. "I love the fact that your story really is reflective of the American dream."
Scott averages 3% support, compared to Trump's 52% and DeSantis's 18%, according to RealClearPolitics.