SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) speaks during a news conference with fellow Senate Republicans on February 1, 2022 in Washington, D.C.
(Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Republican Who Once Proposed Sunsetting Social Security Floats Leadership Bid
Scott, the richest member of the U.S. Senate, also proposed hiking taxes on low-income Americans.
Mar 02, 2024
Republican Sen. Rick Scott said Friday that he is "seriously considering" a bid to succeed Sen. Mitch McConnell as leader of the Senate GOP caucus, an announcement that brought renewed attention to his previous support for sunsetting all federal programs every five years—including Social Security and Medicare.
Scott (R-Fla.), who lost a challenge to McConnell (R-Ky.) in 2022, said in an appearance on "The Charlie Kirk Show" that McConnell's decision to step down as Republican leader at the end of the year represents "a big opportunity."
"We could actually have somebody that actually believes in this country and believes in solving the problems of this country running the Senate when we get a majority in November," said Scott, who is up for reelection this year. "We could make big change."
Two years ago, Scott—then serving as head of the Senate GOP's campaign committee—released an agenda under which "all federal legislation" would lapse and require reauthorization by Congress every five years. Critics were quick to note that Scott's plan would entail sunsetting Social Security, Medicare, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and other key laws.
McConnell, no friend of Social Security, was among those who pushed back on Scott's proposal, forcing him to belatedly amend it to exempt Social Security and Medicare from the five-year sunsetting process.
Scott, the richest U.S. senator, also proposed hiking taxes on low-income Americans. He dropped the plan after facing backlash.
Oh, you mean Democratic ad makers are going to be able to cite "potential Republican Senate leader Rick Scott" and his plans to sunset Social Security and Medicare while raising taxes on half the population? https://t.co/Ux4jY4O9uw
— Brendan Duke (@Brendan_Duke) March 1, 2024
So far, only Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) has officially announced his candidacy for the GOP leadership position, though Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.)—the number two Senate Republican—John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) are other potential contenders, along with Scott.
Prior to his tenure in the U.S. Senate and as Florida's governor, Scott served as CEO of a hospital company that was hit with a total of $1.7 billion in fines for defrauding Medicare. At the time, the Justice Department described it as "the largest healthcare fraud case in U.S. history."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Republican Sen. Rick Scott said Friday that he is "seriously considering" a bid to succeed Sen. Mitch McConnell as leader of the Senate GOP caucus, an announcement that brought renewed attention to his previous support for sunsetting all federal programs every five years—including Social Security and Medicare.
Scott (R-Fla.), who lost a challenge to McConnell (R-Ky.) in 2022, said in an appearance on "The Charlie Kirk Show" that McConnell's decision to step down as Republican leader at the end of the year represents "a big opportunity."
"We could actually have somebody that actually believes in this country and believes in solving the problems of this country running the Senate when we get a majority in November," said Scott, who is up for reelection this year. "We could make big change."
Two years ago, Scott—then serving as head of the Senate GOP's campaign committee—released an agenda under which "all federal legislation" would lapse and require reauthorization by Congress every five years. Critics were quick to note that Scott's plan would entail sunsetting Social Security, Medicare, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and other key laws.
McConnell, no friend of Social Security, was among those who pushed back on Scott's proposal, forcing him to belatedly amend it to exempt Social Security and Medicare from the five-year sunsetting process.
Scott, the richest U.S. senator, also proposed hiking taxes on low-income Americans. He dropped the plan after facing backlash.
Oh, you mean Democratic ad makers are going to be able to cite "potential Republican Senate leader Rick Scott" and his plans to sunset Social Security and Medicare while raising taxes on half the population? https://t.co/Ux4jY4O9uw
— Brendan Duke (@Brendan_Duke) March 1, 2024
So far, only Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) has officially announced his candidacy for the GOP leadership position, though Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.)—the number two Senate Republican—John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) are other potential contenders, along with Scott.
Prior to his tenure in the U.S. Senate and as Florida's governor, Scott served as CEO of a hospital company that was hit with a total of $1.7 billion in fines for defrauding Medicare. At the time, the Justice Department described it as "the largest healthcare fraud case in U.S. history."
Republican Sen. Rick Scott said Friday that he is "seriously considering" a bid to succeed Sen. Mitch McConnell as leader of the Senate GOP caucus, an announcement that brought renewed attention to his previous support for sunsetting all federal programs every five years—including Social Security and Medicare.
Scott (R-Fla.), who lost a challenge to McConnell (R-Ky.) in 2022, said in an appearance on "The Charlie Kirk Show" that McConnell's decision to step down as Republican leader at the end of the year represents "a big opportunity."
"We could actually have somebody that actually believes in this country and believes in solving the problems of this country running the Senate when we get a majority in November," said Scott, who is up for reelection this year. "We could make big change."
Two years ago, Scott—then serving as head of the Senate GOP's campaign committee—released an agenda under which "all federal legislation" would lapse and require reauthorization by Congress every five years. Critics were quick to note that Scott's plan would entail sunsetting Social Security, Medicare, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and other key laws.
McConnell, no friend of Social Security, was among those who pushed back on Scott's proposal, forcing him to belatedly amend it to exempt Social Security and Medicare from the five-year sunsetting process.
Scott, the richest U.S. senator, also proposed hiking taxes on low-income Americans. He dropped the plan after facing backlash.
Oh, you mean Democratic ad makers are going to be able to cite "potential Republican Senate leader Rick Scott" and his plans to sunset Social Security and Medicare while raising taxes on half the population? https://t.co/Ux4jY4O9uw
— Brendan Duke (@Brendan_Duke) March 1, 2024
So far, only Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) has officially announced his candidacy for the GOP leadership position, though Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.)—the number two Senate Republican—John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) are other potential contenders, along with Scott.
Prior to his tenure in the U.S. Senate and as Florida's governor, Scott served as CEO of a hospital company that was hit with a total of $1.7 billion in fines for defrauding Medicare. At the time, the Justice Department described it as "the largest healthcare fraud case in U.S. history."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.