Biden White House ‘Congratulates’ Rick Scott For Editing Plan to Exempt Social Security and Medicare From Sunsetting

Florida Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) quietly edited his controversial “Rescue America” plan, which called for all federal legislation to sunset every five years, to exempt Social Security and Medicare.

The change online did not go unnoticed at Friday’s White House press briefing, which allowed for Karine Jean-Pierre to take a little victory lap and “congratulate” Scott on behalf of the White House for his conversion.

Scott’s plan, which was released ahead of the 2022 midterm elections, has been back in the headlines after President Joe Biden said during the State of the Union that some Republican lawmakers want to end entitlements like Social Security and Medicare.

The claim resulted in a remarkable moment where some GOP members shouted at Biden and even called him a “liar,” during the speech. Biden took full advantage of the moment and secured loud bipartisan applause in support of keeping both programs.

On Friday, NBC News reported, that Scott’s plan has now changed its tune as well. The plan now reads the sunsets will carry “specific exceptions of Social Security, Medicare, national security, veterans benefits, and other essential services.” Previously, the plan read, “All federal legislation sunsets in 5 years. If a law is worth keeping, Congress can pass it again.”

Scott received a warning from former President Donald Trump who wrote on his Truth Social Wednesday night, “Be careful, Rick, and most importantly, fight for Social Security and Medicare. THERE WILL BE NO CUTS!”

“It’s about Rick Scott,” began NBC’s Peter Alexander on Friday. “As you saw, he edited his policy plan on sunsetting federal programs after five years to say, and now exempts Social Security and Medicare. He says to the president, Democratic and Republican leaders that it was never intended to refer to Social Security and Medicare. In the White House’s view, does that end this conversation, is the discussion over this issue done?”

“What do you think?” replied Jean-Pierre with a laugh.

“So I thought you would ask this question. So I have a couple of things to say to the senator. So I’ll first say this, that the president congratulates Senator Scott on joining the post-State of the Union red wave, as we have seen from Republicans, acknowledging that they are in fact, been attempting to put Medicare and Social Security on the chopping block, because that’s what they are actually saying, that they were indeed attempting to do that,” Jean-Pierre continued, adding:

And we have the facts. The past year, he has explained the absence of an exception by saying if it’s worth keeping, we’re going to keep it. But make no mistake, his true colors are undeniable and on the record. They have been speaking at both sides of their mouths here.

That’s what Republicans in the Senate and Congress more broadly have been doing. Cutting Medicaid and Social Security benefits is a long-standing passion of Senator Scott’s as it for as it is for majority of the House Republicans who compromise the Republican Study Committee and many of his Senate colleagues, ranging from John Thune and to Ron Johnson. And so, for example, in 1990s, Senator Scott supported fully privatizing Medicare.

Watch the full clip above.