Sen. Rick Scott said Thursday that the Senate faces a simple choice as a government shutdown deadline approaches — fund the government or don't.
Appearing on Newsmax's "Wake Up America," the Florida Republican rejected calls to defund the Department of Homeland Security and argued lawmakers can't selectively bankroll agencies while leaving core security functions short.
"Well, it's not going to happen," Scott said of demands to defund DHS. "If we're not going to fund DHS, we shouldn't be funding other things, especially all the wasteful earmarks that the Democrats have in this budget bill."
Scott criticized the broader spending package, calling it fiscally reckless, and said it fails to address deficits while prioritizing what he framed as political pork.
"I think this is a terrible bill," he said. "We've got earmarks. We're not coming close to balancing the budget."
From there, Scott drew a bright line on what he said must be protected in any funding agreement: border security and federal agents tasked with immigration enforcement.
"So, you're going to ask me to not fund the people that are going to protect our safety, but you want to have a whole bunch of wasteful spending in a bill?" Scott said. "That's not going to happen."
Scott said the Senate can't try to split the difference by funding only the parts of government favored by one side of the aisle.
"We're either going to fund our government or not," he said. "It's not going to be that we're going to fund part of our government."
Scott vowed that border enforcement funding will remain a red line as negotiations continue.
"So, I'm going to stand here, and I'm going to be clear: we will fund our ICE agents," he said. "We are going to secure this country."
Scott also tied the shutdown fight to the broader squeeze Americans feel from day-to-day prices, arguing that federal lawmakers must also focus on the cost of living.
"The only way this is going to get resolved is we drive down the cost of living," he said. "The cost of living is too high in this country."
He blamed the Biden administration for inflation across household essentials, including healthcare, and said the path forward is bringing prices down rather than shifting costs to taxpayers.
Scott pitched his own healthcare proposal as the fix, saying consumers should control healthcare dollars directly instead of government and insurers.
"I've got a bill that says instead of having the government and insurance companies decide healthcare for you, you're going to decide," he said, adding that putting funds "in an account" would make patients "a better buyer" and "drive down healthcare costs."
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Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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