Rick Scott<\/a> swears he\u2019s not up to something.<\/p>\n

Fresh speculation about the Florida Republican\u2019s ambitions erupted again in recent days after he invited President Donald Trump to address the Senate<\/a> at an especially sensitive moment \u2014 and without Majority Leader John Thune<\/a>\u2019s express approval. Then, he circulated a letter<\/a> outlining how he thought the Senate GOP should be preparing for the November midterms.<\/p>\n

But Scott insists those who see this as a prelude to a leadership challenge have it all wrong. Sitting in his Senate office less than 24 hours after hosting Trump, he told Blue Light News he\u2019s perfectly happy running the conference\u2019s conservative Steering Committee and predicted Thune would easily secure another term as leader.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere won\u2019t be a vote,\u201d he said, adding that he\u2019s \u201cfine\u201d with Thune continuing in the position.<\/p>\n

\u201cHere\u2019s what I don’t get,\u201d Scott continued, expressing exasperation with the palace intrigue. \u201cOther people get to put out their position. If I put out mine, then I want to be leader?\u201d<\/p>\n

What has become eminently clear in recent weeks is that Scott \u2014 after a long career in business, two terms as governor and nearly eight years as senator \u2014 just isn\u2019t a back-bench kind of guy.<\/p>\n

He has lots of thoughts on how the Senate should be run and a willingness to express them, even if it puts him at odds with Thune\u2019s vision. The leader, who trounced Scott in a 2024 conference election, has largely avoided holding doomed votes that would split Republicans and, like many GOP senators, would like nothing more than to get past the monthslong intraparty fight over the SAVE America Act, the elections bill pushed by Trump<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne thing we can do up here is, we can take votes,\u201d Scott said. \u201cEven if they’re not going to pass, we each show people where we are versus the other side. And so, one thing that surprises me is, why don’t we take votes? \u2026 Let’s show people.\u201d<\/p>\n

$\"Scott$ <\/p>\n

Scott\u2019s incarnation as a conservative thought leader is only his latest attempt to stay in the thick of the action<\/a> in a body where obscurity can be hard to avoid. His stint running the GOP Senate campaign arm ahead of the 2022 midterms was controversial<\/a> and ended with Democrats beating historical headwinds and slightly expanding their bare majority.<\/p>\n

He annoyed colleagues with his policy of not intervening in contested Republican primaries and infuriated some of them<\/a> by promulgating a policy agenda through his personal political operation that they hadn’t agreed to.<\/p>\n

That did not deter Scott from challenging then-Minority Leader Mitch McConnell<\/a> after the election that year, garnering only 10 votes<\/a> of 47. He tried again after McConnell stepped down as leader two years later. Scott won 13 votes in a three-way race, but Thune ultimately prevailed.<\/p>\n

Thune, unlike McConnell, doesn\u2019t have an openly antagonistic relationship with Scott. He said in an interview that the Florida Republican has done a \u201cgreat job\u201d as Steering chair. It is in that role that Scott convenes the weekly Wednesday senators\u2019 lunch and invited Trump to attend.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe brings people in that help inform our conversations and discussions about some of the major policy issues,\u201d Thune said. \u201cI\u2019m very supportive of what he\u2019s doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

One Senate Republican who was granted anonymity to speak candidly said that Scott had earned \u201cstreet cred\u201d within the conference for how he\u2019s run the Steering Committee. He has brought in Trump, Elon Musk<\/a> and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, among others, underscoring his connections with key luminaries in the contemporary GOP.<\/p>\n

For now, the Steering position and his close ally\u2019s return to the White House have given him renewed influence and a base of support outside of leadership, where multiple Republicans are viewed as potential contenders to succeed Thune if he decides to retire in 2028 or beyond.<\/p>\n

Scott isn\u2019t up for reelection until 2030, and he did not guarantee in the interview that he would stick around the Senate indefinitely.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve done this. I\u2019ve tried different stuff,\u201d he said. \u201cSo we\u2019ll see.\u201d<\/p>\n

He had been the subject of past speculation about a presidential run but made clear in the interview he\u2019s not interested in a Cabinet position because \u201cI was 25 years old the last time I worked for somebody.\u201d His future, he said, will revolve around the question, \u201cAm I being productive?\u201d<\/p>\n

The GOP senator granted anonymity said he doesn\u2019t think Scott will run for leader again in November but acknowledged that Scott is viewed as ambitious and that there\u2019s \u201cnot a lot of ways to go up\u201d in the Senate absent running for leader or president.<\/p>\n

\u201cRick, appropriately, properly feels he\u2019s got more to contribute,\u201d the senator added. \u201cI hope he feels a certain sense of satisfaction about his leadership on the Steering Committee because he really has made it great.\u201d<\/p>\n

$\"Elon$ <\/p>\n

For now, Scott\u2019s sense of productivity has certainly been boosted by his dealings with and loyalty to Trump.<\/p>\n

\u201cPresident Trump works great with Senator Scott and has appreciated his efforts to advance the President\u2019s America First agenda in the Senate \u2014 including urging a path forward for the SAVE America Act,” White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a statement.<\/p>\n

A person familiar with the administration\u2019s thinking, granted anonymity to speak candidly, attested to Scott\u2019s \u201cdeep relationships\u201d across the administration, pointing to Wiles and Secretary of State Marco Rubio in addition to the president himself.<\/p>\n

\u201cTrump remembers the people who were with him\u201d between his two presidential terms, the person said, adding that Trump \u201calso respects \u2018successful\u2019 people and Rick may be the most successful business person in the Senate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last week\u2019s lunch invitation grew out of a conversation between Trump and Scott, though the meeting did not go as Scott had planned. Notes from Scott\u2019s introduction obtained by Blue Light News show he wanted to spark a policy-driven conversation focused on three issues: the future of the Senate filibuster, passage of the SAVE America Act<\/a> and preventing another government shutdown.<\/p>\n

Instead, Trump came into the closed-door meeting \u201cpissed\u201d over a symbolic vote the previous day<\/a> on the Iran war, Scott said, and quickly got into a back-and-forth with retiring Sen. Bill Cassidy<\/a> (R-La.) on that issue. Trump proceeded to mostly air his grievances at senators rather than engage in any productive back-and-forth, attendees said.<\/p>\n

Still, Scott said, \u201csomething positive\u201d came out of the meeting because hours later Republicans defeated a different Iran war powers resolution. And he predicted there would be a \u201crenewed emphasis\u201d on the GOP elections bill that Trump views as his No. 1 priority.<\/p>\n

He pointed to three potential paths forward for the SAVE America Act: attempting a \u201ctalking filibuster\u201d that would force Democrats to hold the floor in order to block the bill, breaking the voting bill up into pieces or trying to include it in a party-line budget reconciliation bill, which would require precedent-breaking moves many GOP senators oppose.<\/p>\n

Only the talking filibuster option<\/a>, Scott believes, has a possible chance of success, and he urged Thune and his other colleagues to consider it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the right way is, let\u2019s put it on the floor,\u201d he said. \u201cMaybe we should take all of August and do it. It is the most important thing to Americans, and it actually is important.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many of his colleagues don\u2019t share his optimism, and it could be difficult to get enough senators interested in voting to even restart debate on the bill given the high level of frustration within the conference.<\/p>\n

Asked about that frustration, Scott cut in: \u201c[Then] don\u2019t do it. Hey, I\u2019m just saying, here\u2019s how I look at life \u2014 I\u2019m one senator.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alex Gangitano contributed to this report.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"