Scott Targets Committee Predecessor Over Alleged Improper Bonuses, Calls for Audit

Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) talks to reporters after meeting with Senate Republicans at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Nov. 15, 2022. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

In the wake of calls over a review of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), former Chairman Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) blamed the “unauthorized and improper bonuses” granted to staff before he took office.

It came after a three-hour-long Tuesday meeting when Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) sought an independent audit of the committee’s spending resources in the midterm elections after the party failed to win the Senate majority, Politico reported.

“When I took over,” Scott, the head of the Senate GOP’s campaign arm, said in response Wednesday, “I immediately became aware that hundreds of thousands of dollars in unauthorized and improper bonuses were paid to outgoing staff after the majority was lost in 2020.”

“When that’s your starting point” Scott continued, “you work really hard to make sure there are transparent processes and we are more than happy to sit down with any member of the caucus to walk them through our spending.”

He was referencing ex-chairman Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.), who just won reelection for Indiana’s U.S. Senate seat for his second term over Democrat challenger Thomas McDermott Jr. during the midterms.

Scott applauded Young on Nov. 9 upon his reelection victory in Indiana, calling him “a proud Marine who understands the importance of hard work, sacrifice and fighting for what is right.”

Kevin McLaughlin, the NRSC’s 2020 executive director under Young, the then-chairman, said in response: “This is what children do when they are caught with their hand in the cookie jar.”

“We welcome a full audit,” McLaughlin said, Politico reported.

NRSC spokesperson Chris Hartline told the outlet that calling for an audit was unnecessary, given the committee’s regular filings with the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

“We get audited every month. It’s called an FEC report,” Hartline said. “Every member of the caucus was kept in the loop on NRSC strategy and spending all cycle.” According to NRSC’s latest FEC report, the committee raised $234.6 million for the 2022 election cycle as of Oct. 19.

The Senate GOP Conference on Nov. 15 saw Senate GOPs vote 37–10 to reelect Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) as their leader over Scott, despite the latter having announced a day earlier to oust the top Republican in a first-ever attempt since his leadership in 2007. A previous effort to delay the leadership elections until the Senate runoff election in Georgia is completed had failed.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) walks to the Senate Chambers in the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, on Sept. 27, 2022. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

McConnell’s critics have argued that he didn’t allocate enough campaign funding for Republican candidates such as Blake Masters in Arizona and Don Bolduc in New Hampshire. Masters once said he would not support McConnell as leader in the next Congress.

The Senate Leadership Fund (SLF), a political action committee with close ties to McConnell, slashed millions in campaign spending for the Arizona Senate race in the weeks leading up to the Nov. 8 election.

“The NRSC has done an annual independent audit every year since at least 2014,” said Scott in his Wednesday statement issued by NRSC. “We hope SLF and One Nation do the same,” he added.

Newly elected Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) will succeed Scott as the committee chair. He vowed to “​​work toward securing a lasting Republican Senate majority.”