Rick Scott gains momentum to lead Republican majority in Senate

Right now, Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) is the favorite to replace Mitch McConnell and become the new Senate GOP leader.

While the name Scott was always at the top of the list of potential senators to lead the new majority, his candidacy gained much more strength in the last hours, thanks to the backing of important national voices from the conservative world and his own colleagues in the Senate.

One of the most resounding endorsements comes from conservative anchor Tucker Carlson, who wrote a post on X accusing McConnell of staging "a coup" in the Senate.

"What the hell is going on in the US Senate? Hours after Donald Trump wins the most conclusive mandate in 40 years, Mitch McConnell engineers a coup against his agenda by calling early leadership elections in the senate," Carlson said.

"Two of the three candidates hate Trump and what he ran on. One of them, John Cornyn, is an angry liberal whose politics are indistinguishable from Liz Cheney’s. The election is Wednesday, it’s by secret ballot, and it will determine whether or not the new administration succeeds. Rick Scott of Florida is the only candidate who agrees with Donald Trump. Call your senator and demand a public endorsement of Rick Scott. Don’t let McConnell get away with it again."

In addition to Carlson, other senators quickly jumped on board with Scott's candidacy, publicly announcing their vote.

"President Trump needs Rick Scott as Majority Leader to shepherd his bold agenda through the U.S. Senate!" said Sen. Ron Johnson.

Libertarian-leaning Republican Rand Paul also endorsed Scott and warned in his message, "The status quo of $2 Trillion annual deficits is unsustainable."

Elon Musk responded to the post by agreeing but did not directly state whether he supported Scott's candidacy.

"Excess government spending is driving America into bankruptcy," Musk said.

Likewise, Sen. Bill Hagerty announced he will vote for Scott on Wednesday.

"President Trump’s massive coattails delivered a historic Republican Senate majority. As a result of President Trump’s leadership, we saw Republican Senate victories in seats (i.e. PA, OH, MT) that have eluded Republicans for decades," Hagerty said. "That’s why I want to see a Senate Majority Leader who can join me in embracing the Trump agenda, which will unify Senate Republicans. On Wednesday, I will be voting for Rick Scott."

Likewise, other conservative activists like Charlie Kirk and Scott Presler have publicly endorsed the Florida senator as the next majority leader.