Rick Scott is once again under fire. The former governor who now serves as a U.S. Senator and the chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) is being criticized for taking a swipe at President Joe Biden for his “staycation” at his home in Delaware, which reporters discovered the Florida Republican did while tweeting from a luxury yacht in Italy.
Presidents generally take a few weeks off in August because Congress is on their summer recess.
Scott, the former CEO of a healthcare company who oversaw the largest Medicaid fraud in U.S. history, is considered to be the richest person in the U.S. Senate.
The Florida GOP lawmaker “is spending part of his congressional recess on a luxury yacht in Italy with his family after criticizing President Biden for vacationing in Delaware,” Axios reports. “Vacationing in Europe while Republicans face cash problems and rough headlines about their midterm chances could further hurt his standing with his GOP colleagues.”
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Scott is already under fire for lavish spending of the NRSC’s meager finances, including on efforts to improve his standing ahead of a possible presidential run.
Pointing to a Washington Post article about the NRSC’s money troubles, Talking Points memo editor Josh Marshall last week said: “There’s clearly been some shift in momentum over the summer. But fundraising collapses like this don’t happen in a week or a month. Did Rick Scott defraud the NRSC like he did Medicare? How on earth can they be out of money after a year of gop surge?”
The New York Times’ Maggie Haberman Tuesday afternoon, pointing to the Axios report, added: “The figurehead of the NRSC, whose staff posted in giant posterboard a tweet questioning if he’d have fundraising troubles after his J6 vote, is aboard someone’s luxury boat as R candidates are struggling and the NRSC’s $ situation is also troubled.”
“Knives are out for Rick Scott,” notes Washington Post congressional reporter Paul Kane. “Hey, he’s a mega-millionaire who can work from anywhere. But it’s a leak that shows Rs are growing restless.”