WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. David Scott will no longer serve as the Democratic Party’s leader on the House Agriculture Committee when the new Congress begins working in January.
The full Democratic caucus voted Tuesday to make Minnesota U.S. Rep. Angie Craig its new ranking member on Agriculture. Scott had withdrawn his name from consideration on Monday after the Steering and Policy Committee ranked Craig and another challenger ahead of him.
Craig released a statement after Tuesday’s vote saying she was prepared to step into her leadership role on the powerful committee, where she will be tasked with being the party’s voice in deliberations with Republicans who hold the majority.
“My focus will be on improving people’s lives — not scoring political points,” she said. “We can lower food and energy costs for consumers. We can strengthen the farm safety net and open the doors of opportunity to new and beginning farmers. And we can ensure that nutrition assistance programs are available for the Americans who need them.”
Scott, 79, delivered a five-minute speech and answered questions from steering committee members for an additional 10 minutes before Monday’s vote. But the Atlanta-area lawmaker ultimately received only five votes from the roughly 65 members, as first reported by Politico.
Craig received the most votes, 34. Another challenger, Rep. Jim Costa of California, earned 22 votes and remained in contention on Tuesday’s ballot.
Scott became the first Black lawmaker to lead the Agriculture Committee after Democrats won the House majority in 2020. The committee oversees subsidies and other resources for farmers and food producers, but also the popular Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, better known as food stamps.
Almost immediately after he became the committee’s chair, some of Scott’s fellow Democrats began to complain he was not up to the task. However, then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other leaders backed him up.
Scott missed two weeks’ of votes last month following unannounced treatment for a bad back. He was welcomed back by colleagues when he returned, and he vowed to fight to retain his ranking member position. He told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution it was “in God’s hands.”
House Democrats have a trio of new leaders now who represent a younger generation and have been less vocal about the contested races for Scott’s post and others led by members with seniority. Two other senior Democrats, Judiciary’s Jerry Nadler of New York and Natural Resources’ Raúl Grijalva of Arizona, relinquished their ranking member posts after younger challengers surfaced in recent weeks.
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