McConnell Retaliates Against Top Senate Republicans Who Tried to Oust Him From Leadership — In a Text Message

Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) removed Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) from the influential Commerce Committee on Wednesday, a move many observers viewed as political retaliation for Scott’s efforts to oust McConnell as leader.

Further adding to that speculation was the fact that McConnell also yanked Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) from the committee. Lee openly supported Scott’s bid to oust McConnell and the duo has publicly confronted McConnell on federal spending and other issues.

McConnell defeated Scott 37 to 10, with one Senator voting present, in November to become the longest-serving Senate party leader in U.S. history.

“McConnell got to pick. He kicked me off, he kicked Lee off,” Scott told the Hill, confirming the news.

The Hill noted that Scott “acknowledged running against McConnell is the likely reason he was booted from the panel despite his relative seniority on the committee and experience running a major company.”

“I probably ran the biggest company almost any senator in the history country has ever run. I was governor of the third-biggest economy in the United States, Florida. I’ve got a business background,” Scott was quoted as saying.

The Hill also reported that a source close to Scott relayed that the Florida Republican, who led the GOP’s failed effort to retake the U.S. Senate in 2022, was “furious.”

Scott reportedly found out about the move via a text message, recalling former President Donald Trump – who reportedly recruited Scott to take on McConnell – famously firing top officials over Twitter.