The Senate’s Special Committee on Aging has never been the most sought-after assignment.
The typically sleepy panel hasn’t historically met as frequently as other committees. Major pieces of legislation statutorily can’t start in Aging. The hearings that Aging has held in recent years — “Guardianship and Alternatives,” “Stopping Senior Scams,” and “Assisted Living Facilities: Understanding Long-Term Care Options for Older Adults” — have been about as controversial as the one markup that the Joint Committee on Printing holds every Congress, an organizational meeting adopting rules for the panel.
But for Sen. Rick Scott, the Aging Committee’s new chairman, his panel now has an opportunity to go after some of the most politically sensitive issues in Congress, like ending inflation, achieving “fiscal sanity,” and addressing Social Security with renewed enthusiasm.
The question for Scott is whether it’s possible to do so while maintaining the bipartisan spirit for which Aging has come to be known.
In his first meeting as chair, Scott — a six-year alum of the panel — set the table for his shared vision for the committee with the Aging’s No. 1 Democrat, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand: a panel focused on health, financial security, safety and support systems.
In style and substance, Scott seemed to be striking a bipartisan tone.
“Aging is not a partisan issue,” Scott said in his first remarks as chair. “Whether we like to admit it or not, we are all aging. It impacts every single one of us, regardless of political party.”
A second hearing about inflation appeared to be running similarly smoothly until Gillibrand invited the executive director of Social Security Works, Alex Lawson, to offer his opening remarks. Lawson, who has devoted his career to protecting and expanding Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, seized on his moment to dunk on Scott.
“Social Security, the most popular and effective program in America, is not safe. Last month, a Republican representative, who is a member of the DOGE caucus — like Chairman Scott — told me personally that there will be some cuts to Social Security and Medicare,” Lawson said, committing the congressional faux pas of calling out the panel’s chairman by name.
Lawson didn’t stop there.
“Across this country they say, ‘You don’t lower prices by stealing people’s health care,’” he continued. “‘You don’t lower prices by giving giant tax cuts to billionaires and price-gouging corporations. And you absolutely don’t lower prices by reducing the Social Security and other benefits that adults have worked their entire lives to earn.’”
Lawson’s testimony might as well have been lifted from the Democratic Party’s 2026 messaging playbook — and that point wasn’t lost on Scott.
As Democrats scramble to retake the House and, at the very least, eat into the GOP’s Senate majority, Democratic leaders and campaign brass are taking pains to accuse Republicans of bludgeoning Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid via the party’s “big, beautiful” reconciliation bill and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.
Scott didn’t just let Lawson’s swipe go. But the man who is no stranger to tangling with top Democrats over Social Security seemed to be intent on taking the temperature down.
“Just so you know,” Scott said after Lawson’s remarks, “I actually don’t know anybody — there might be — that thinks we ought to be cutting the benefits of Medicare or Social Security.”
The exchange exemplified the central question facing Scott as he helms the Aging Committee: Can Republicans and Democrats address policy issues in a public forum without devolving into partisan mudslinging?
To that, Scott told NOTUS, “I hope so.”
When pressed on whether his panel can truly bridge one of the tensest partisan fault lines given the charged political nature of issues he plans to address, he again responded optimistically, “I hope we can talk about the issues and hopefully resolve some of them,” adding that Gillibrand — who is currently chairing the campaign arm for Senate Democrats — has been “great to work with.”
Still, Scott is something of an awkward messenger for Republicans on elderly issues. During his past life as a hospital executive, his former company pleaded guilty to Medicare fraud, and
as the National Senatorial Campaign Committee chair in 2022, he authored a 12-point missive to “Rescue America” that proposed sunsetting every federal program every five years unless reauthorized by Congress.
Democrats, naturally, had a field day with the possible implications for Social Security and Medicare. And Scott amended his plan to exempt Social Security, Medicare, national security, veterans’ benefits and other essential services.
On the other hand, Scott has good reason to be serious-minded about senior policy. He has made the issues facing aging Americans central to his tenure in Congress. He represents Florida, the state with the second-highest percentage of seniors per capita. He also has a fascination with longevity. And he is, personally, of retirement age — though in the famously geriatric Senate, the lean 72-year-old is virtually a spring chicken.
For her part, Gillibrand has welcomed Scott’s chairmanship, calling the panel’s work “extremely rewarding” and telling NOTUS in a statement that she has a “very positive relationship with Chairman Scott that exemplifies productive bipartisanship.”
And yet, it’s also true that Gillibrand is chairing the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, where she will be in charge of crafting her party’s strategy to retake the Senate majority by hammering vulnerable Republican senators on issues like Social Security cuts.
Gillibrand didn’t shy from that language in her statement. “During a time when the programs that older Americans rely on to preserve their health, financial security, and overall well-being are under attack, the work of the Aging Committee is more important than ever,” she said.
“Alongside my Democratic colleagues on the committee,” Gillibrand continued, “I am committed to protecting vital programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security, lowering prescription drug costs, and guarding against scams that are often perpetrated against older adults.”
Already, the panel leadership has upped the frequency with which the committee convenes. In 2023, under the previous chair, former Sen. Bob Casey, the panel met eight times. In three months, Scott has already hosted five hearings, including ones on loneliness, opioids and longevity. On Wednesday, the panel announced another hearing with the House Select Committee on China to examine risks to American retirement accounts posed by the Chinese Communist Party, featuring Kevin O’Leary of “Shark Tank” fame.
While attendance at these hearings can be spotty, Scott met with members, including Democrats, to discuss their priorities and boost engagement.
One such Democratic member, Sen. Andy Kim, told NOTUS he’s gotten a “good response” from Scott since his meeting. Kim, a freshman, wanted to serve on the Aging Committee as he navigates his father’s battle with Alzheimer’s and the expenses that come with his care.
But even though Kim said he hopes the committee’s lack of legislative authority will spare members from the bare-knuckle politicking that’s bedeviled other panels, he was clear-eyed that the work won’t be entirely copacetic.
“I disagree vehemently when it comes to the issues of Medicaid,” Kim said, adding in particular his concern for seniors who require long-term care in nursing homes.
“I didn’t hold back in terms of showing my concern about this,” Kim said, referring to his comments during the inflation hearing. “We’ll see how it goes.”
Sen. Elizabeth Warren told NOTUS that in her experience working as an odd couple with Scott — she and Scott are the top members of their party on Senate Armed Services’ Personnel Subcommittee — she could vouch for Scott’s bipartisan bona fides. And as a long-time panel member, Warren noted that under Scott, the Aging Committee has been more “active.”
Still, Warren wasn’t all praise. When NOTUS noted that Scott had taken heat for his 12-point plan from Democrats, she was quick to interject. “I think he got in trouble with Republicans, too,” she said.
“I would like to see us do even more about cuts to Social Security and Medicare,” she added.
Warren and Kim’s wishes underscore the challenge of Scott’s gavel. While there is plenty of opportunity for work across the aisle, Social Security is unlikely to be one of them. Republican committee members told NOTUS that pursuing the DOGE mantra of rooting out “waste, fraud and abuse” in the programs is a top priority for their work on the panel.
“Democrats need to understand that it’s a problem we’re having,” committee member Sen. Tommy Tuberville told NOTUS. “And all these so-called programs are feeling the fraud and theft.”
“And we’re not looking to cut; we’re looking to reform to where we cut out people that don’t belong,” he said.
The second most senior Republican on the Aging Committee, Sen. Ron Johnson, also has a partisan reputation. But for now, Johnson was happy to share with NOTUS that Democrats were “cooperating” with what he sees as Scott’s noble vision for the panel.
“He’s really trying to make the committee something that’s pretty relevant to the times,” he said.
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Riley Rogerson is a reporter at NOTUS.