Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) can’t seem to make up his mind.
The South Carolina Republican voted Wednesday against a sweeping immigration reform bill—but went on Fox Business Network just hours later to say that he voted against a separate foreign aid bill for Israel and Ukraine because the border issue should be addressed first.
Scott explained his logic after the Senate, led by a number of Republicans and a few Democrats, blocked the border deal and foreign aid package that had been drawn up partly by Sen. James Lankford (R-OK). Despite many Republicans recently demanding such legislation, former President Donald Trump’s opposition to the measure was widely seen as contributing to its failure.
On Kudlow, after Scott was asked by guest host David Asman about the standalone foreign aid bill, the senator said he had already entered his opposition into the record.
“I voted no already a few minutes ago,” Scott replied.
“Here is the reason why: unfortunately what this administration and Chuck Schumer are doing is using the crisis in Israel to support other priorities of the party,” he argued, before outlining which issues he believes take priority over others.
“We should first secure our southern border. Second, provide resources to Israel. Third, take a look at Indo-Pacific. And fourth, make sure that we have accountability woven into any resources that we give to Ukraine. Without doing those four things in succession, it’s going to be hard for Republicans to support it,” he said.
Prior to the failed vote on the packaged legislation, Lankford said on the Senate floor that he was disappointed that some in his party were backing away from it. He also described how a “popular commentator” threatened to “destroy” him if a border bill is passed before the election.
Republican Senators who voted “yes” on the measure were Lankford, Susan Collins of Maine, Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski and Utah’s Mitt Romney, who is retiring at the end of the year. The bill, which refugee rights group Amnesty International USA called among “the most extreme anti-immigrant proposals this country has seen in 100 years,” was also opposed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and four Democrats.
Later in the interview, Asman inquired about Scott’s willingness to be Trump’s running mate should he be the GOP nominee.
“If you’re asked by Donald Trump to be his vice presidential candidate, would you accept?”
Scott, who dropped out of the GOP primary two months before the Iowa caucuses and later pledged his support to the indicted former president, claimed he wasn’t too concerned with being picked or not.
“I accept the responsibility of making sure that America gets four more years of Donald Trump, because we were better off with Trump,” he argued. “I’m not going to worry about what happens with me.”
