GOP’s Rick Scott to challenge Mitch McConnell for control of Senate caucus

Senator Rick Scott will challenge Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell for control of GOP leadership in the upper chamber, a move that comes days after Mr McConnell’s caucus failed to unseat a 50-vote Democratic majority in the midterm elections.The Florida senator, who only joined the Senate in 2019, announced his plans to mount a bid for leadership of the caucus on Tuesday at the Senate GOP’s closed-door meeting; multiple news outlets confirmed the development. Though he is a newcomer to the Senate, he will likely have the backing of Donald Trump in his bid to take over the GOP caucus given Mr Trump’s strong dislike of Mr McConnell over the latter’s refusal to support his bid to overturn the 2020 election.Mr Scott currently leads the Senate GOP’s campaign arm, a position that will likely leave him open to attacks from other Republican senators on the issue of why the GOP failed to take the upper chamber this cycle. Kevin Cramer, a Republican senator from North Dakota, made that argument to reporters on Tuesday as Mr Scott announced his bid.’If you’re gonna assess blame for election losses, I don’t know how you trade in the leader for the gentleman at the [National Republican Senatorial Committee],’ Mr Cramer quipped to HuffPost.More follows…