‘Ill-fated effort’: McConnell was ‘furious’ at Rick Scott’s 2022 leader bid, book says

Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., was privately infuriated at then-National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) Chairman Rick Scott’s last-minute leaderhip challenge in 2022, calling it an attempt to shift attention from the Florida Republican’s “poor job” running the Senate GOP campaign arm, according to a forthcoming biography.

“McConnell was furious with Scott,” wrote Michael Tackett, deputy Washington bureau chief of the Associated Press in the book “The Price of Power.”

“He’s angry about it because since he’s been leader he’s always had command and control of the conversation during a midterm, and this changed that,” former McConnell Chief of Staff Josh Holmes said in the biography.

The leader said at the time, according to the book, “I don’t think Rick makes a very good victim.” 

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McConnell was reportedly ‘furious’ when Scott challenged his re-election as leader. (Reuters)

“I think he did a poor job of running the [Senate campaign] committee. His plan was used by the Democrats against our candidates as late as the last weekend [before the election.] He promoted the fiction that we were in the middle of a big sweep when there was no tangible evidence of it,” McConnell reportedly added. 

He referenced an 11-point agenda “to Rescue America” that Scott released while chairing the NRSC, the book said. The plan was unveiled after McConnell, the longtime Republican leader, had dismissed efforts to put out such an agenda ahead of the midterms, considering it to be a mistake. 

According to the biography, previewed by Fox News Digital, McConnell believed himself to have been right about this and thought Scott’s plan was “laughably bad.” 

The leader specifically lamented parts of Scott’s plan stating that all Americans should pay some degree of income tax, and “All federal legislation sunsets in five years. If a law is worth keeping, Congress can pass it again.” 

These were things McConnell expected Democrats to seize on, especially as the latter could be understood as endangering Social Security and Medicare. 

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McConnell is the longest-serving party leader in Senate history. (AP/J. Scott Applewhite)

According to the forthcoming book, McConnell stated that Scott’s “campaign against me was some kind of ill-fated effort to turn the attention away from him and onto somebody else” when Republicans did not take back the Senate majority in the midterms. 

At the time, the leader reportedly said, “We had a good opportunity to discuss the differences, people had an opportunity to listen to both candidates, and I’m pretty proud of 37 to 10,” in reference to the vote totals in the secret ballot. 

The Kentucky Republican reportedly wasn’t offended by the challenge from Scott. In fact, he took great pleasure in the personal win, according to the book. 

“McConnell relished the win like his childhood pummeling of Dicky McGrew,” wrote Tackett. Tackett said that McGrew was a “friend and foe” of young McConnell, who picked on him until his father demanded he confront his bully. The now-Republican leader fist-fought McGrew as a child, despite the latter being bigger and stronger, the book said.

His deep private enjoyment of triumphing over Scott’s challenge exemplified a “competitive fire” noted in the biography that “could sometimes flare hotter when he was confronting Republicans who opposed him than when he was tangling with Democrats.” 

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Scott sought to take over as leader in 2022. (Alex Wong)

McConnell gave this greater credence in recent remarks in Kentucky during the congressional recess. Explaining that “I’m still a traditional Republican: pro-trade, low taxes, pro-business,” he told the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, “there are some on my side now who don’t sound that way.”

“I’m going to be arguing more with them probably than the Democrats. Again, depending upon how the election comes out.”

In a statement to Fox News Digital, Scott responded to McConnell’s revealed comments about himself, saying, “While Leader McConnell and I have fundamental disagreements, I am shocked that he would attack a fellow Republican senator and the Republican nominee for president just two weeks out from an election.”

Scott was referring to McConnell’s several past candid criticisms of former President Donald Trump outlined in the book.

While Trump is competing for the presidency against Vice President Kamala Harris, Scott is also seeking re-election in Florida.

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Senators John Cornyn, John Thune and Rick Scott are contenders in the race to succeed Mitch McConnell as leader. (Getty Images)

“I believe we should be talking about solutions, he doesn’t,” Scott continued. “I support Donald Trump and his work to fundamentally change the way Washington operates, he doesn’t. I believe we should support the candidates Republican voters choose, he doesn’t.”

“With almost $36 trillion in debt, an open southern border, historic inflation, and a world on fire, I know we need dramatic change, and he doesn’t.”

As for McConnell’s remarks about Trump detailed in the book, he said in a statement, “Whatever I may have said about President Trump pales in comparison to what JD Vance, Lindsey Graham, and others have said about him, but we are all on the same team now.” 

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The leader, who is the longest-serving party head in Senate history, notably announced in February that he would not be seeking to lead the GOP conference again, opening up the opportunity for the first time in years. 

Earlier this year, Scott launched another leader bid. In 2022, he received 10 votes on the secret ballot after announcing a campaign against McConnell at the last minute. 

Both Senate Minority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., and Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, have also thrown their hats in the race.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.