Sen. Rick Scott Is Mad That Biden Attacked His Plan To Put Social Security At Risk

The Florida Republican wants federal laws to end in five years unless extended. But he says suggesting he wants to cut Social Security or Medicare is a lie.

David Moye
Feb 8, 2023, 

Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) apparently isn’t happy that Joe Biden, in his State of the Union address Tuesday, accurately quoted his proposal to let Social Security and Medicare expire.

During the speech, Biden mentioned that “some Republicans” have a plan to “sunset” all federal laws every five years so that Congress would have to repeatedly reauthorize funding for everything ― including Social Security and Medicare.

Biden didn’t mention Scott by name, but on Wednesday the Florida Republican griped on Twitter that Biden “rambled for a while, but it seems he forgot to share the facts.”

He then jumped into a lengthy thread in which he minimized what he actually proposed, mainly because it isn’t even popular with his fellow Republicans.

Scott claims his plan is to simply make all federal legislation sunset, or face extinction if not reapproved, in five years and added, disingenuously, “If a law is worth keeping, Congress can pass it again.”

The senator said the plan is “aimed at dealing with ALL the crazy new laws our Congress has been passing of late” and claims ”to suggest that this means I want to cut Social Security or Medicare is a lie, & is a dishonest move…from a very confused President.”

Despite his tweeted denials, Scott has advocated cutting Social Security and Medicare in the past, as this exchange from May with Fox News anchor John Roberts demonstrates.

Scott did get some praise for his Twitter thread, but it was from people who appreciated his saying the quiet part out loud about Republican plans to destroy the safety net.