Florida Sen. Rick Scott is blocking quick confirmation of hundreds of Coast Guard promotions as he tries to resolve a dispute involving a shipbuilder in his home state.
The Republican said in an interview Tuesday that he has placed a hold on the Coast Guard promotions, which prevents the Senate from easily clearing them unanimously and would force Majority Leader John Thune to set up time-consuming roll call votes on promotions that are usually agreed to with little fanfare.
“I’ve been talking … since Trump came into office about trying to resolve an issue they have with a boat builder in Florida. And they … won’t put the time in to get a result,” Scott said.
“I’ve met with everybody that I can meet with, and I want them to focus,” Scott said of the Coast Guard, adding that he wasn’t trying to dictate the outcome to the administration but emphasizing “you have to get this resolved.”
Scott didn’t specify which shipbuilder he was referring to. But Scott has been a longtime booster of a Coast Guard contract with Panama City-based Eastern Shipbuilding Group to deliver four new advanced cutters. A person granted anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the matter said the hold is related to the company.
Then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem scrapped plans for two of the boats last year, and ESG announced in November it would stop work on the two remaining boats “due to significant financial strain caused by the program’s structure and conditions.”
The tussle over the nominations comes as Thune is trying to quickly assemble and approve a new personnel package, telling reporters Monday night that confirming another tranche of President Donald Trump’s nominees is a priority alongside resolving the DHS shutdown and renewing soon-to-lapse surveillance powers.
