Trump asked Sen. Rick Scott to challenge McConnell for Senate Republican leader: Politico

• Trump has encouraged Rick Scott to challenge Mitch McConnell for Senate GOP leader, per Politico.
• "You should run for Senate majority leader," the ex-president reportedly told Scott at Mar-a-Lago.

Former President Donald Trump has encouraged Republican Sen. Rick Scott to challenge Minority Leader Mitch McConnell as the leader of the Senate GOP caucus, according to Politico.

During a recent meeting at Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in South Florida, the former president pressed the first-term Florida lawmaker and chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee to go up against McConnell, the Kentucky Republican whom he has sought to overthrow from leadership for over a year.

According to an individual with knowledge of the conversation who spoke to Politico, Trump suggested that Scott should lead the caucus.

"You should run for Senate majority leader," the former president reportedly told Scott.

Per the Politico report, Trump has previously posed the question to Scott on numerous occasions, stressing that the former two-term governor would be a great fit for the role.

However, Scott sought to shift the focus of the meeting back to Republicans securing a majority in the 2022 midterm elections.

"We have to focus on winning," Scott reportedly told Trump of his push to win control of the Senate. "My only focus is on winning."

Trump also floated Sen. Lindsey Graham as a candidate to lead the Senate GOP, according to a Daily Beast report, but the South Carolina Republican said on Monday that he had not spoken to the former president about the issue and was not interested in a challenge.

"I know [Trump] is not pleased with Sen. McConnell," he told the outlet, adding: "He has not gone down that road with me."

While Democrats and Republicans both hold 50 seats in the upper chamber, the former party controls the chamber by virtue of Vice President Kamala Harris' tiebreaking vote.

Trump's continued involvement in the mechanics of congressional politics has put Scott in a difficult position, as he raises money to help McConnell secure a majority while also maintaining a relationship with the former president, whose political operation largely migrated to the Sunshine State last year.

Scott, who narrowly defeated three-term Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson in 2018, is becoming a major player on the Hill, and his name has been floated in many GOP circles as a future presidential candidate.

This week, he released an ultraconservative "Rescue America" blueprint for Republican candidates running in the 2022 midterm elections, which was seen by many as a direct contrast to McConnell's insistence that the GOP would not offer a legislative agenda before November.

While some conservatives hailed Scott's proposal — which included calls for a border wall at the US-Mexico border and voter identification laws — others felt that the plan could potentially backfire on Republicans running in swing districts.

Scott, who entered politics without the early support of the party establishment, has often operated within his own orbit, according to Politico.

"Rick Scott doesn't give a fuck about what McConnell world thinks," said a senior GOP official who spoke to the news outlet and has observed interactions between the two lawmakers.

However, Scott spokesperson Chris Hartline offered a sunnier take on the relationship.

"Chairman Scott and Leader McConnell are working hand in hand to win back the Senate in November," he told Politico.

Some have argued that McConnell has picked solid candidates who can win in tough races and Scott should be more cognizant of that, per the report.

The senator's tax proposal also unleashed a wave of criticism from Democrats, with even some Republicans giving Scott's plan a cool reception.

While Scott has previously said that it would be "foolish" for Republicans not to seek Trump's endorsement for the midterm elections, McConnell remains a major drag in the former president's eyes.

After Trump's second impeachment trial for "incitement of insurrection" for his role in the January 6, 2021 riot, McConnell declined to find the president guilty but thoroughly scolded him on the Senate floor. While McConnell later said that he would support Trump if he emerged as the GOP presidential nominee in 2024, the speech cratered the relationship between the two men.

Despite Trump's enormous influence among the Republican base, his efforts to pressure lawmakers to dislodge McConnell have so far sputtered as the veteran senator remains popular within his caucus, according to a Politico report from December.