Sen. Rick Scott spoke to former President Donald Trump about entering the race to replace Mitch McConnell as Senate GOP leader, telling The Washington Times, “He was excited I’m getting in.”
The Florida Republican said he does not know if Mr. Trump will endorse him for the position but noted that he’s known the former president since before either of them left the business world to seek political office.
It didn’t take long for Mr. Scott to start making calls to his fellow GOP senators after announcing his bid Wednesday. He told The Times Thursday morning that he had already spoken to every Republican senator.
The Senate Republican Conference will vote late this year, after November’s elections, on selecting a new GOP leader for the next Congress.
They currently have three choices but the field could still grow.
Mr. McConnell, the longest-tenured leader of his party, is voluntarily vacating the position but will remain in the Senate and get to vote on his successor.
Sens. John Thune of South Dakota and John Cornyn of Texas, the respective current and former No. 2 in GOP leadership, quickly announced their bids for GOP leader after Mr. McConnell decided to step aside. On Thursday, they said Mr. Scott’s decision to run was not a surprise and welcomed him into the race.
“He’s a valuable member of our conference and I look forward to having a discussion about what kind of changes that he’s going to recommend,” Mr. Cornyn said.
All three GOP leader candidates have endorsed Mr. Trump as the presumptive Republican nominee for president.
But Mr. Thune and Mr. Cornyn have at times distanced themselves from the former president in the years since his 2020 loss and the Jan. 6, 2021 riots at the Capitol to prevent certification of President Biden’s win.
Mr. Cornyn said it’s “entirely up to the president” when asked if Mr. Trump should stay out of the GOP leader race.
But he indicated he doesn’t think Mr. Scott portraying himself as the pro-Trump candidate would give him an edge.
“My experience is these races are the ultimate insider race because it’s built on trust and relationships within the conference, so I don’t expect this to be any different,” Mr. Cornyn said.
Sen. Mike Rounds, for example, is still supporting Mr. Thune, his South Dakota delegation mate, despite a “good talk” with Mr. Scott on Wednesday night.
“I’ve known John Thune for 40 years. He’s solid. He’s the right guy for the job,” Mr. Rounds said. “He’ll make some major changes in the way that the Senate is operating today. I think we’ll actually get some stuff done.”
Sen. J.D. Vance, Ohio Republican, said he will not declare his support in the GOP leader race for some time as he welcomes new entrants like Mr. Scott to foster dialogue around the direction of the conference.
“The more the merrier,” Mr. Vance said. “In the GOP conference we need to have a real conversation about what we want to look like for the next Congress and the next generation.”
Mr. Vance, a close ally of Mr. Trump, said he thinks the former president will eventually provide his opinion on who should lead Senate Republicans but not before the November election.
“I would be surprised if anybody from Trump world weighed in before the elections. I think we’re all just focused on seeing what kind of a majority we hopefully have and then figuring it out from there,” he said, noting the dynamics of the race could change depending how the election shakes out. “There’s a lot of uncertainty.”
• Lindsey McPherson can be reached at lmcpherson@washingtontimes.com.