(Ezekiel Loseke, Headline USA) Senators Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Rick Scott, R-Fla., have been accused of defying minority leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., on critical issues ahead of the midterms.
Graham released a bill that would produce a national ban on abortion after fifteen weeks, on Tuesday, according to Axios. Graham said he did not consult Republican leadership in the Senate before releasing the bill. Graham released the bill the same day that economic news damaging to Democrats broke. Just so, Axios reported that McConnell argued that the states ought to be in charge of abortion policy.
Graham and McConnell have had a strained relationship for a while. Graham has spoken against McConnell since McConnell began fighting with President Trump. Graham said, “I’m not going to vote for anybody for leader of the Senate as a Republican unless they can prove to me that they can advocate an American First agenda and have a working relationship with President Trump, because if you can’t do that, you will fail.”
Meanwhile, Rick Scott released his 12-point plan to rescue America, which explained how the GOP would govern if it won a majority. According to Axios, the plan has drawn attacks from President Joe Biden as recently as Tuesday.
Scott and Graham’s independent actions have drawn the ire of Senatorial leadership. A senatorial aid told Axios, “Rick Scott’s plan and Graham’s announcement yesterday have sent candidates running for cover and distancing themselves from these proposals,” and that this is “exactly the opposite of what we want right now.”
Axios reported that other Republican Senators had raised criticisms of the duo. Senator Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., said, “The Senate’s made up of 99 people who want to be president — and me.”
Senator Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, pined for the days when the Senate was more respectful. Kevin Cramer added, “I just think in today’s multimedia/24-hour cycle world, it’s just different,” and Senatorial discipline may not be possible with 24-hour news cycles. Senator Josh Hawley, R-Mo., agreed, saying, “If we have more members … we’ll have more people who do their own thing.”
“Senator Scott fights every day to do what he thinks is right and is in the best interest of Florida families,” a Scott spokesman told Axios. “He answers to them, his family and God — no one else.”
