The conservative Club for Growth took a swipe at Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell in its endorsement of his chief Republican rival, after the group had previously distanced themselves from Donald Trump.
The fiscal conservative group, which is one of the top-spending Republican super PACs, endorsed Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) in his re-election campaign and rebuked McConnell, who recently questioned his 2024 chances over his support for scaling down Social Security and Medicare, reported Politico.
“While other Republicans have caved to massive tax-and-spend packages that have strained our economy, Rick Scott has consistently championed small government solutions centered around fiscal responsibility," said Club for Growth president David McIntosh, "And because of that he’s faced the unfounded and false attacks of liberal Democrats like President Biden and even establishment Republicans like Leader McConnell."
A spokesman for the group said their super PAC, which spent $60 million on Senate races in the 2022 cycle, would back Scott, who so far has no GOP primary opponents.
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Scott chaired the National Republican Senatorial Committee during the last midterm election, and he and McConnell clashed on strategy, and the Florida Republican unsuccessfully challenged McConnell as GOP leader after the party failed to take back the Senate majority.
McConnell last week blamed Scott for plans to sunset Social Security and Medicare, which President Joe Biden called out during his State of the Union address and which Republicans -- including Scott -- have tried to claim as false.
“Well unfortunately, that’s the Scott plan,” McConnell told Kentucky radio host Terry Meiners. “That’s not a Republican plan; that was the Rick Scott plan.”
McConnell then questioned whether Scott would, or should, keep his seat, although he insisted there was no lingering ill will over his failed leadership challenge.
“This doesn’t have anything to do with that,” McConnell said. “I mean it’s just a bad idea. I think it will be a challenge for him to deal with this in his own re-election in Florida, a state with more elderly people than any other state in America.”
