Scott pitches Trump plan to block Democrats from shutting down government

Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., wants to show “who the good guys are and who the bad guys are” with a legislative wish-list he wants to pitch to President Donald Trump in Republicans’ meeting with the president this week.

In a letter to fellow Senate Republicans obtained by Fox News Digital, Scott laid out a plan for the next six months that would take away Democrats’ ability to shut the government down ahead of the midterm elections and possibly find a path to pass the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act.

“We need to make a clear distinction as to who the good guys are and who the bad guys are,” Scott wrote. “We have to demonstrate what Republicans stand for and what Democrats stand for through action, not rhetoric.”

His roadmap comes ahead of Trump’s scheduled meeting with Senate Republicans on Wednesday. Trump accepted an invitation to attend the weekly Senate Republican Steering Committee lunch from Scott last week.

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Republicans are readying for their face-to-face meeting with Trump following a series of decisions that have thrown roadblocks on their march to advance key policy priorities, and they await a briefing from the administration on the recently signed memorandum of understanding with Iran.

“I think it’ll be a lot of different things,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said of what to expect at the meeting.

“Hopefully, celebrating some of our successes, talking about the path forward, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the SAVE Act, the SAVE America Act, whichever version of it, might come up,” he continued.

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The SAVE America Act, in particular, has proven a difficult lift in the Senate. While a paired-down version of the voter ID and citizenship verification legislation cracked 50 votes earlier this month, united opposition from Senate Democrats and Republicans unwilling to back the bill have sidelined it. 

Still, Trump has continued to demand that Republicans pass the SAVE America Act, calling for it to be attached to a reauthorization of the nation’s controversial spy powers or rammed through with the pargyline budget reconciliation process. 

Scott argued that Senate Democrats would likely again shut down the government ahead of the elections to gain a political edge, given their track record of record-breaking shutdowns in the last year. He also acknowledged that while the SAVE America Act was Trump’s top priority, “Republicans are not united in eliminating the filibuster to pass Republican priorities.” 

Included in his pitch to lawmakers is a plan to pass a funding extension to keep the government open “at least until after the November election,” and putting the current version of the SAVE America Act or portions of it such as voter ID or requiring proof of citizenship before registering to vote.” 

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Other agenda items included passing anti-shutdown legislation, like Sen. Ron Johnson’s, R-Wis., bill to pay federal workers during a closure, and Sen. James Lankford’s, R-Okla., measure to pass automatic short-term funding extensions in the event of a shutdown.

Scott also wants to pass legislation that would crack down on fraud, reduce government waste, reduce government spending, add a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution, bills aimed to make the country safer and further legislation to lower taxes. 

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“We need to show voters that we are listening to them and will fight for their priorities whether any Democrats vote with us or not,” Scott wrote.