Rick Scott misses ‘bully pulpit’ of Governor’s Office

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Though Rick Scott is nearing his two-year mark in the U.S. Senate, the Florida Republican misses the “bully pulpit” his previous job afforded him.

The former Governor of Florida made those comments on the “Freedom Rings” podcast with Senate Republican colleague Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee.

“As the Governor, you’re the CEO of the state,” Scott told Blackburn. “And so, you can change the prison system, you can change economic development, you can change the school system. You can do all these things.”

However, Scott noted that no Governor can do it alone.

“Now you do work with your Legislature. But you have a great bully pulpit that you can use to try to push stuff you believe in,” the Senator added. “It’s a great job.”

The Senate, meanwhile?

“This place, in the Senate, trying to get 60 people to agree on something is not very easy,” Scott said.

“I think Mitch McConnell has got a pretty difficult job,” Scott said.

While Scott asserted that there are “great issues” to deal with in D.C., and “the things you get to work on” excite him, there clearly was some longing for the previous role. Scott, who delayed his move to Washington to run out the clock on his second term, seems to still have residual nostalgia for the prerogatives of the Executive Branch.

Florida Republicans recall how Scott used the so-called “bully pulpit” to push policy moves, as illustrated by a 2017 foray into Northeast Florida to attack powerful legislative Republicans at the time for opposing his position on Enterprise Florida economic incentives. Speaker Richard Corcoran drew a hard line, and Scott hit the road to ensure that siding with the Speaker would have consequences with the executive branch.

While Scott has not been able to use the so-called “bully pulpit” in the Senate the way he did during eight years in Tallahassee, the Senator, in his new role as head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, has gotten a higher profile, as evidenced by his plays in the Georgia Senate races.

The question now: Is that enough action for him?

Scott has disclaimed interest in a 2024 run for President, saying Donald Trump should have another go. If that’s the case, expect him to run for reelection despite his disquiet about the Senate process itself.