Rick Scott

Richard Lynn Scott (né Myers; born December 1, 1952) is an American attorney, businessman, politician, and Navy veteran serving as the senior United States senator from Florida, a seat he has held since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he served from 2011 to 2019 as the 45th governor of Florida. Scott is a graduate of the University of Missouri–Kansas City and the Dedman School of Law at Southern Methodist University. In 1987, after serving in the U.S. Navy and becoming a law firm partner, he co-founded Columbia Hospital Corporation. Columbia later merged with another corporation to form Columbia/HCA, which eventually became the nation's largest for-profit health care company. During Scott's tenure as CEO of Columbia/HCA, a federal investigation was launched into allegations of colossal Medicare and Medicaid fraud. Scott resigned from his role as CEO on July four months after the investigation began. (The DOJ announced in 2003 that it had settled the case against Columbia/HCA for $1.7 billion in damages and penalties—at the time, the largest case of Medicare fraud in US history). After he resigned from Columbia/HCA, Scott gained notoriety for pleading the Fifth Amendment 75 times in depositions. He later became a venture capitalist, and pursued other business interests. Scott ran for governor of Florida in 2010, defeating Bill McCollum in a vigorously contested Republican primary election and Democratic nominee Alex Sink by just over one point in the general election. Scott was reelected in 2014, again by just over one point, against former governor Charlie Crist. He was barred by term limits from running for reelection in 2018 and instead ran for the U.S. Senate. Scott won the 2018 U.S. Senate election, defeating incumbent Democrat Bill Nelson in a close election that triggered a mandatory recount. He was reelected in 2024, defeating Democratic nominee...