McConnell yanks GOP Sen. Scott from Commerce Committee after failed leadership challenge

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has removed Florida Republican Sen. Rick Scott from the Senate Commerce Committee, along with Utah Sen. Mike Lee.

Scott ran unsuccessfully for leadership against McConnell after publicly breaking with him during the midterms over the minority leader's disparaging remarks about the quality of some Trump-backed GOP Senate nominees.

"McConnell got to pick. He kicked me off; he kicked Lee off," Scott said, according to The Hill. Lee backed Scott's bid for Senate leadership, which saw McConnell triumph in a 37-10 vote.

The Florida senator expressed some incredulity at the decision, pointing to his relevant experience on issues related to the committee's operations.

"I probably ran the biggest company almost any senator in the history of the country has ever run. I was governor of the third-biggest economy in the United States, Florida. I've got a business background," he said.

With the departure of Scott and Lee, as well as Wisconsin GOP Sen. Ron Johnson, who changed committees, McConnell tapped GOP Sens. Ted Budd, N.C., Eric Schmitt, Mo., and J.D. Vance, Ohio, to fill the remaining seats.