Tim Scott Changes Subject After Question About Contraception

Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) pointed to Democrats and largely declined to answer when asked why he joined fellow Republicans in blocking a bill that would guarantee access to contraceptives on Wednesday.

Why vote nay and explain how thats not a bad issue for Republicans? Fox News host Bret Baier asked.

Scott, who is reportedly being considered as former President Donald Trump s 2024 running mate, argued that people already have access to contraceptives, claimed that will continue, and accused Democrats of politicizing the issue.

Then, he changed the subject to abortion.

Baier eventually jumped in to bring Scott back to contraceptives, asking why Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) would hold a vote on the issue.

The polls are clear that they are losing this November election. The day of reckoning is Nov. 5 of this year. Theyre doing anything they can to try and demonize the Republicans as if were gonna do something as he suggested. Hes just wrong, Scott said of Schumer.

Republicans have pointed to U.S. Supreme Court decisions protecting access to contraceptives to argue against the bill, while Democrats such as Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) warned of the high court posing a real risk to do the same thing on contraception as it did with abortion in 2022.

Schumer, in a press conference, declared that tens of millions of people have been robbed of their reproductive freedoms and tens of millions more worry about something as basic as birth control.

Your Support Has Never Been More Critical

Other news outlets have retreated behind paywalls. At HuffPost, we believe journalism should be free for everyone.

Would you help us provide essential information to our readers during this critical time? We can't do it without you.

Can't afford to contribute? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.

You've supported HuffPost before, and we'll be honest we could use your help again . We view our mission to provide free, fair news as critically important in this crucial moment, and we can't do it without you.

Whether you give once or many more times, we appreciate your contribution to keeping our journalism free for all.

Whether you give just one more time or sign up again to contribute regularly, we appreciate you playing a part in keeping our journalism free for all.

Support HuffPost

He said, Thats utterly medieval. Its sickening. It should never happen here in the United States, but because of Donald Trump and the hard right, its reality.

Tim Scott has absolutely no answer when asked on Fox News why he voted today against the right to contraception. Instead, with help from host Bret Baier, he changes the topic to abortion. pic.twitter.com/FfkT3h8kck

Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 5, 2024","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"Aaron Rupar","author_url":"https://twitter.com/atrupar","cache_age":86400,"description":"Tim Scott has absolutely no answer when asked on Fox News why he voted today against the right to contraception. Instead, with help from host Bret Baier, he changes the topic to abortion. pic.twitter.com/FfkT3h8kck Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 5, 2024\n\n\n","options":{"_hide_media":{"label":"Hide photos, videos, and cards","value":false},"_maxwidth":{"label":"Adjust width","placeholder":"220-550, in px","value":""},"_theme":{"value":"","values":{"dark":"Use dark theme"}}},"provider_name":"Twitter","title":"Aaron Rupar on Twitter / X","type":"rich","url":"https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1798489130181046651","version":"1.0"},"flags":[],"enhancements":{},"fullBleed":false,"options":{"theme":"news","device":"mobile","editionInfo":{"id":"us","name":"U.S.","link":"https://action.news","locale":"en_US"},"originalEdition":"us","isMapi":false,"isAmp":false,"isVideoEntry":false,"isEntry":true,"isMt":false,"entryId":"666132b6e4b0f507c4393283","entryPermalink":"https://action.news/entry/tim-scott-contraception-bill-vote-fox-news_n_666132b6e4b0f507c4393283","entryTagsList":"fox-news,republican-party,contraception,tim-scott,bret-baier,@us_huffpost_now","sectionSlug":"politics","deptSlug":"politics-news","sectionRedirectUrl":null,"subcategories":"us-news","isWide":false,"headerOverride":null,"noVideoAds":false,"disableFloat":false,"isNative":false,"commercialVideo":{"provider":"custom","site_and_category":"us.politics","package":null},"isHighline":false,"vidibleConfigValues":{"cid":"60afc111dcf87c2cd2f5d8bf","overrides":{"front_page_top_videos":{"desktop":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","mobileweb":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d"},"top_media":{"desktop":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","mobile":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"anthology":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"content":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"}},"playerUpdates":{"5668ae6ee4b0b5e26955d6a6":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","56aa41bae4b091744c0440d8":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81","5841b2b5cc52c716ec6e5a7f":"60b8e355cdd90620331ba185","58b5e2b8d85a10302feee895":"60b64316b171b7444beafdb2","58b74698f78ced31417819ae":"60b8e5bec5449357a7ad9b52","58b74ccecebcea57e2c3a3d1":"60b8e5eac5449357a7ad9ca5","58cff690d85a100b9992bc39":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","58cffb3fb6d9b972a49a3c9d":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","58cffdd74d96935d7d6ec180":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","58d03a84f78ced6518eb2fa7":"60b643c82e76be41f112735c","592edf20e0fa177b0c26f7fd":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","5b35266b158f855373e28256":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","5c116f29f79c4171d82b7c2a":"60b64440b171b7444beb040b","5c1170fc600c9a697bf0c6b9":"60b646102e76be41f1127ffc","5c47791afa1b317df8ae0c4f":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","5c477987a6b48b35f164773d":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","5c4779ee943c3c2a64f28371":"60b8e747cdd90620331bb861","5c477a26fcd67b26879bc7c2":"60b8e788c5449357a7ada67b","5d8921a78c3ae845f366c9b6":"60ae7be5f3a7c13a30417ff9","58b98b00ba82aa39a6534321":"60d0de7c9340d7032ad1146c","58b9d14cb6d9b96c9ec32af3":"60d0dec19340d7032ad115a0","58cff8eccebcea42931e0436":"60d0e005b627221e9d819d44","592edf5de0fa177b0c26f95b":"60d0e38fb627221e9d81adcf","58cff72fd85a100b9992c112":"60d0e447b627221e9d81b0da","56b4d34fe4b022697697c400":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","60b8e4c0c5449357a7ad957d":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81"}},"connatixConfigValues":{"defaultPlayer":"ff7fdddc-5441-4253-abc4-f12a33fad58b","clickToPlayPlayer":"d014396e-b366-4c17-aeac-3ce906fa3fd0","videoPagePlayer":"f010447b-d244-4111-a314-7b4542ae4145","verticalPlayer":"e58cb05a-0bc8-4210-9108-fea82726c065","stickyPlayerControl":"52ea1755-d601-4ad1-bccc-d8cce3f0e5da","stickyPlayerON":"8055e9e5-3bda-4933-8d45-9ad814fb6e22"},"topConnatixThumnbailSrc":"https://img.connatix.com/0b17ee36-da09-478b-adef-939bcca75894/1_th.jpg?crop=480:270,smart&width=480&height=270&format=jpeg&quality=60&fit=crop","customAmpComponents":[],"ampAssetsUrl":"https://amp.assets.huffpost.com","videoTraits":null,"positionInUnitCounts":{"buzz_head":{"count":0},"buzz_body":{"count":0},"buzz_bottom":{"count":0}},"positionInSubUnitCounts":{"article_body":{"count":14},"blog_summary":{"count":0},"before_you_go_content":{"count":0}},"connatixCountsHelper":{"count":1},"buzzfeedTracking":{"context_page_id":"666132b6e4b0f507c4393283","context_page_type":"buzz","destination":"huffpost","mode":"mobile","page_edition":"en-us"},"tags":[{"name":"Fox News","slug":"fox-news","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/fox-news","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/fox-news","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/fox-news"},"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Media","slug":"media"},"topic":{"title":"Fox News","slug":"fox-news","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/fox-news"},{"name":"Republican Party","slug":"republican-party","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/republican-party","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/republican-party","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/republican-party"},"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"Republican Party","slug":"republican-party","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/republican-party"},{"name":"Contraception ","slug":"contraception","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/contraception","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/contraception","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/contraception"},"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"Contraception ","slug":"contraception","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/contraception"},{"name":"tim scott","slug":"tim-scott","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/tim-scott","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/tim-scott","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/tim-scott"},"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"Tim Scott","slug":"tim-scott","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/tim-scott"},{"name":"Bret Baier","slug":"bret-baier","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/bret-baier","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/bret-baier","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/bret-baier"},"url":"https://action.news/topic/bret-baier"}],"isLiveblogLive":null,"isLiveblog":false,"cetUnit":"buzz_body","bodyAds":["

\r\n\r\n","

\r\n\r\n"],"adCount":0},"isCollectionEmbed":false}">

Tim Scott has absolutely no answer when asked on Fox News why he voted today against the right to contraception. Instead, with help from host Bret Baier, he changes the topic to abortion. pic.twitter.com/FfkT3h8kck
Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 5, 2024