Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Monday removed Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) from the powerful Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, prompting a shrug from the onetime rival Kentuckian.
In an interview Thursday on “CNN This Morning,” Scott said McConnell’s decision made no sense, pointing to his experience as a business leader and the fact that his state is one of the largest.
“I don’t know why they do it, but it’s life,” he said on the morning show.
Scott, who challenged McConnell for the Republican leadership of the chamber last year but failed to attract enough support, was thrown together with Sen. Mike Lee from Utah.
The Floridian said he learned of the news via text message, according to The Hill.
McConnell can make decisions unilaterally because Commerce is the third “Class A” panel assignment for both senators.
Scott remains a member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and the Armed Services panel, while Lee sits on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee and the Judiciary panel.
McConnell previously said he wasn’t considering a challenge from Scott in the GOP Senate leadership race.
“Anyone who wants to participate can do so,” he said after the vote in November. “So I’m not offended by having enemies or having some voices in opposition.”
He added that he was “overwhelmed by 37 to 10,” referring to the number of votes.
But McConnell’s latest move may suggest otherwise.
Lee, another senator left the panel, tweeted link to an article from The Hill about the removal, writing, “Mitch happened.”
Lee was one of 10 votes to support Scott’s bid for the GOP leadership.
Scott, who leads the GOP’s Senate campaign arm, has clashed with McConnell in the lead-up to last year’s midterms over the party’s election strategy. McConnell has suggested that the GOP has a problem with some of its candidates.
Republicans failed to win back the Senate after all Democratic incumbents won races and now-Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) defeated Dr. Mehmet Oz, flipping the seat previously held by Republican Pat Toomey before retiring.
Scott is reportedly seeking re-election in 2024 and is not pursuing a bid for president, according to NBC News.