Midterm elections are usually tricky for the party that holds the White House, but Senate Republicans are on track to keep their majority and have a good shot at picking up seats, says Sen. Rick Scott, former chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
In an interview on The Washington Times’ “The Sitdown with Alex Swoyer” video series, Mr. Scott also predicted the Senate will hold Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress and has a shot at passing part of President Trump’s election integrity agenda.
The Florida Republican said there are 50 GOP Senate votes for two provisions of the Save America Act — requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote and ID to cast a ballot.
Normally, it would require overcoming a filibuster to pass those changes, but House Republicans have attached them to a $95 billion budget “reconciliation” package, which can pass on just a majority vote. Vice President J.D. Vance could provide a tiebreaking vote.
“We have had 50 votes. All across the country people want voter ID. They also want people to prove they are American citizens registered to vote. I think what we ought to be doing is put it on the floor and let’s see where the votes are,” Mr. Scott said. “We need to get started.”
Republicans hold 53 of the Senate’s 100 seats, though some Republicans aren’t sold on the president’s election measures.
SPECIAL COVERAGE: The Sitdown With Alex Swoyer
Mr. Scott, who ran Senate Republicans’ campaign organization from 2021 to 2023, was optimistic about the GOP’s chances to keep those 53 seats in November’s elections. He said he sees a chance to expand that majority.
He said his party’s toughest race may be in North Carolina, but all eyes have recently been on Maine, where Sen. Susan M. Collins has repeatedly won reelection despite stiff headwinds.
He said Republicans have a good chance of picking up a Senate seat in Georgia, currently held by Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff, and have other targets too.
“I think we will keep a majority and we might pick up Michigan with [Mike] Rogers and we might pick up New Hampshire with [John E.] Sununu, so I think we will keep a majority but we have a shot to increase,” he said.
Mr. Scott is a member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, where Dr. Fauci refused to answer questions on his role in the coronavirus pandemic, citing his Fifth Amendment right against self incrimination.
The committee is slated to vote on a resolution that would recommend holding Dr. Fauci in contempt of Congress, and Mr. Scott signaled his support.
He said that a Biden pardon excusing Dr. Fauci for criminal conduct under federal law committed from 2014 to the start of 2025 effectively erased any jeopardy for Dr. Fauci, so he shouldn’t have been able to claim the right to remain silent.
“He had a pardon, so there was no limitation,” the senator said.
He said Dr. Fauci has a lot to answer for.
“Remember how they told us if you get the vaccine you’ll never have COVID? Complete lie and they act like there was no natural immunity, which there is. So many people died. They died. They died because of him,” Mr. Scott said.
He was hopeful that the Senate could find a way to take action on birthright citizenship, responding to the Supreme Court’s ruling in June that found babies born on U.S. soil to unauthorized immigrants and temporary visitors are entitled to automatic citizenship.
“There is a variety of bills,” Mr. Scott said. “We are clearly going to have to change our visa laws.”
One option could be restricting pregnant women from traveling to the U.S.
Another bill is Mr. Scott’s Safe Kids Act, which would curtail birth tourism. The legislation bars foreign adversaries like the Chinese Communist Party from using American surrogates to have children on U.S. soil to obtain citizenship.
“The ayatollah could send an embryo over here and have a surrogate and have an American citizen as his son,” he said.
The senator also said he’s working for more transparency over generic drugs manufactured in India and China.
“If you put a pill in your body, you should know where it is made,” he said. “You have no idea what is in them. There is a study that says you have an over 60% increased chance of death and hospitalization if you take a generic from China and India. Almost all the ingredients come out of China.”
His Clear Labels Act would require drug companies to put the country of origin on the bottle of medication.
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