I spoke to Insider‘s Joseph Zeballos-Roig about the fallout surrounding Senator Rick Scott’s “Rescue America” platform and its significance heading into the 2022 midterms.

The Florida Republican is widely viewed as a future presidential contender. Liam Donovan, a lobbyist and former GOP political operative, said he believed the entire proposal was meant to burnish Scott’s conservative credentials ahead of a potential 2024 run.

“This is all kind of vibes-based, riffing off of popular themes,” he said in an interview. “And I think there’s open questions as to how any of those would translate into actual legislation.”

It’s possible that it won’t amount to more than a messaging effort. Other planks of the platform was comprised of a 12-year term limit on all federal employees and members of Congress, slashing the IRS budget by half, outlawing government collection of racial data, and ensuring all federal legislation sunsets after five years. “If a law is worth keeping, Congress can pass it again,” the plan stated. That may mean re-approving landmark laws such as the American with Disabilities Act or Social Security Act on an ongoing basis.

“I just don’t think it is deep enough to be taking the Republican Party back anywhere or even forward anywhere because it’s just a vibe,” Donovan said. “This is meant to get your email address and get you to open your wallet.”

“The provocation is the point,” he added.

Read the full piece here.

I spoke to Jess Bidgood of the Boston Globe about the early performance of Trump-endorsed midterm candidates and what it says about his enduring power within the GOP.

“The question is, can you recover from anything that is being seen as remotely disloyal?” said Liam Donovan, a Republican lobbyist and former aide to the Senate GOP’s campaign arm. “Any would-be challengers . . . they’re going to feel a lot more comfortable putting the pieces in place with the expectation that, even if Mr. Trump gets mad and fires off some nasty press releases, that’s not going to be a dealbreaker with the voters.”

Read the full piece here.

I spoke to CNN‘s Eric Bradner about the Breyer vacancy and the political opportunity the nomination presents to President Biden and his party.

“It’s a timely morale boost for a White House and a party that desperately needs something to cheer about,” said Republican strategist Liam Donovan. “But who is on the Supreme Court will have far less of an impact on the midterms than how the court stands to rule on key cases during their next term.

“The real potential upside for Democrats, Donovan added, was the opening now for Biden’s overall standing to improve — that if a Supreme Court nomination battle and confirmation can bring those who have wavered on the party back into its fold “and get his (approval) numbers out of the low 40s, that’s a big deal.”

“The flip side of this is that there’s not much value for (Republicans) in dragging this out or getting into a personal or divisive confirmation battle, so it’s in everybody’s interest for things to go relatively smoothly,” he said. 

Read the full piece here.