Rick Scott announces run for Senate GOP leader

After months of speculation, Rick Scott has made it official. He wants to be the U.S. Senate Republican leader.

In February, Sen. Mitch McConnell, the longtime Republican leader, announced he would leave the post in November. That means Republicans will get a new standard bearer in the Senate for the first time since 2007.

That person will have enormous sway over the legislative agenda in Washington — particularly if Republicans regain control of the chamber. Democrats hold it 51 to 49, but the party faces some tough reelection fights in November.

“Senate Republican leadership should reflect the views and aspirations of Republican voters,” Scott wrote in a three-page letter to his Senate colleagues, obtained by the Tampa Bay Times, announcing his candidacy. “It’s no secret that Republican voters believe we don’t fight hard enough for the issues they care about.”

Scott went on to write that he believes the Senate should operate with more transparency. He pledged to never make colleagues vote on legislation they didn’t have an opportunity to review, and to work closer with House Republicans. He also said the Republican leader position should come with a six-year term limit. Scott, who was first elected in 2018 to the U.S. Senate, has long supported congressional term limits.

This won’t be Scott’s first run for GOP leader. He challenged McConnell in 2022, but the Kentucky U.S. senator defeated him handily in that race.

This is a breaking news story that may be updated.