Rick Scott votes for ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ despite Senate refusing to consider Medicaid rollback

Rick Scott proposes tax-free savings accounts to help homeowners prepare for hurricanes.

The Senate passed the “One Big Beautiful Bill” without considering a controversial Medicaid amendment filed by U.S. Sen. Rick Scott. The Naples Republican voted for the bill anyway.

Afterward, Scott released a statement saying he felt committed to advancing the legislation, which makes tax cuts passed in President Donald Trump’s first term permanent. But he made clear the work of scaling back the size of the federal government won’t be finished based on one bill.

“President Trump was elected to fix the mess that Democrats made of our nation: $37 trillion in debt and reckless spending fueling high inflation, high-interest payments, big government programs that fail to actually serve the American people, a completely open border that allowed drugs and terrorists to come into our country, and (former President Joe) Biden’s countless national security crises as he appeased adversaries and abandoned our allies,” Scott said.

“I made a promise to the American people that I would do everything I could to help the president accomplish this by continuing the Trump Tax Cuts, making sure we have the resources to secure the border and ensure our military is a lethal fighting force, and that every single tax dollar was spent wisely to balance the budget. That means returning to pre-pandemic spending levels and stopping Democrats and blue state governors from scamming Medicaid to give free health care to illegals instead of targeting support for the most vulnerable.”

The Naples Republican proposed an amendment to the bill to include a Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP), which would eliminate the ability of those who are not disabled, pregnant or older than 65 to enroll in Medicaid. That would roll back a Medicaid expansion passed under former President Barack Obama as part of the Affordable Care Act.

As recently as Monday, Scott was rallying support for the measure, and appeared to have the support of Majority Leader John Thune. But the proposal also created consternation among Senate moderates concerned about Medicaid cuts already included in the bill.

“What do I tell 663,000 people in two years or three years, when President Trump breaks his promise by pushing them off Medicaid because the funding’s not there anymore?” said U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican and one of three members of his caucus to vote against the bill.

Scott had a bloc of four conservative Senators who initially said they wanted to see his amendment pass before supporting the bill. Supporters included U.S. Sens. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Mike Lee of Utah and Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming. But The Associated Press reported that those Senators all held a midnight meeting with Thune.

Afterward, Scott’s amendment was never taken up on the floor at any point in a 27-hour vote-a-rama. The Senate then voted 50-50 on the final bill, requiring Vice President JD Vance to cast a tie-breaking vote.

Scott said he appreciated the improvements that were made to the bill in the Senate.

“This bill delivers on our promise to secure the border and protect Americans from Biden’s open border crisis and to better equip our military to protect our freedoms. It prevents a $4 trillion tax increase on Americans by continuing the Trump Tax Cuts, meaning families in my state will continue to see an average of $3,650 in tax savings, and tax relief for seniors, No Tax on Tips, and No Tax on Overtime,” he said.

“It also provides certainty on tax requirements for American businesses to help grow the economy while we continue our work to reduce waste and find ways to rein in spending.”

He also addressed changes made to limit potential fallout for Medicaid subscribers, but promised he will still pursue reform in the future.

“I am also proud we were able to provide much-needed funding for our rural hospitals to begin fixing the blue state governors’ abuse of the Medicaid system,” he said.

“But we must keep fighting to fully ensure Medicaid funding goes to poor children, the disabled, and those with chronic illnesses and not taxpayer-funded handouts to illegals; and fix the root cause of the massive growth in federal spending in Medicaid: Obama’s decision to have the federal government pay 90% of the costs of covering able-bodied adults to watch TV instead of work, as compared to as little as 50% federal support for those the program is intended for — poor children, the disabled, and individuals with chronic illnesses.”

Scott thanked the Senators who supported his measure, but ultimately said legislating requires compromise.

“In this bill, there are many spending projects you will be surprised to see with our nation more than $37 trillion in debt. I was, too. But, that is the imperfect process of bringing elected individuals together to pass a bill that works for their states,” he said.

“I have been warning my colleagues for years about the dangers of massive deficit spending and debt for the American people, and we have our work cut out for us to ensure Congress fully understands this.”