Sun Sentinel
Sen. Rick Scott
August 19, 2025

The Sun Sentinel Editorial Board is once again ignoring reality to build a narrative against a Republican elected official.

This will come as a shock to no one, but it must be said.

Far from the claims in the Editorial Board’s inaccurate piece, I fully support banning members of Congress from trading stocks. I have supported legislation while I have been in the U.S. Senate to make that happen.

The legislation this Editorial Board references is one of many that have come through Congress to tackle this issue. Unlike other bills attempting to ban stock trading, I did not believe this one actually addressed the problem.

Republican Sen. Josh Hawley put forward a bill that was hastily drafted with Democrats and dropped at the last minute — literally while we were sitting in committee preparing to vote.

It was clear that every member on the committee had issues understanding what the new draft covered.

I believe that we ought to read bills before we vote on them, not just approve every policy that could be in a bill but that we aren’t sure about — even if it sounds good to Editorial Board members who have never held elected office, and in most cases have never run a business or had to make decisions that impact the personal finances of other people.

Voters expect me to read bills before I vote on them.

I know that Floridians want us to ban stock trading by members of Congress and I wholeheartedly agree. I’ve been supportive of this idea for years. That’s why I would like to advance the PELOSI Act, and I will have an announcement to make on my work to ban stock trading by members of Congress soon.

I also believe there should be an investigation of Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s stock trading history. I wanted that to be part of this bill, but Democrats and Hawley opposed that. It is important information that the public needs to know.

I have spent my time as Florida’s governor and U.S. senator being attacked by this Editorial Board for making tough choices instead of always just doing the thing that sounds nice.

They also love to attack me for being successful in my business life after growing up poor in public housing, enlisting in the Navy, and going to college on the G.I. Bill.

They liked to attack me for not taking a salary, for selling the state jet and paying for my travel as governor. And I am sure they will find a way of attacking me for donating my Senate salary every quarter to deserving charities. That’s fine.

If this Editorial Board mattered, I wouldn’t have been elected governor or U.S. senator. Fortunately, voters can see right through it.

Rick Scott, Florida’s senior U.S. senator, was elected in 2018 and re-elected in 2024. He served as governor of Florida from 2011 to 2019.