Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said any idea on sunsetting Social Security and Medicare belongs to Sen. Rick Scott—not the GOP.
“Unfortunately, that was the Scott plan, that’s not a Republican plan,” McConnell said on a Kentucky radio program.
McConnell’s comments about Scott, a GOP rival, come as the White House continues to spotlight how Republicans heckled — and apparently committed not to touch entitlement programs — during President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address this week.
“Speaker (Kevin) McCarthy said Social Security and Medicare are not to be touched and I’ve said the same,” McConnell told radio host Terry Meiners on Thursday.
“And I think we’re in a more authoritative position to state what the position of the party is than any single senator.”
The background
Social Security and Medicare are two of the federal government’s most popular – and most expensive – entitlement programs. They have long been a source of heated debate during discussions about the national debt and federal spending.
Despite the GOP’s promises not to cut the programs, Democrats say some Republicans – like Scott – have proposed doing just that. Scott’s plan would sunset all government programs, including Social Security and Medicare, after five years.
McConnell v. Scott gets uglier
The two senators have been at odds for months.
Scott challenged McConnell’s hold on leadership last November after blaming the Kentucky Republican for the GOP’s poor showing in the 2022 Senate races.
McConnell shot back during Thursday’s radio appearance that the idea could be “a challenge for (Scott) to deal with this in his own reelection in Florida, a state with more elderly people than any other state in America.”
Scott spokesman Chris Hartline bristled at that suggestion and blasted McConnell in a tweet Thursday saying: “Some D.C. Republicans can keep parroting Democrat lies, but that won’t stop Rick Scott from fighting for conservative principles instead of caving to Biden every day.”