Scott on the verge of losing House Agriculture Democratic leadership

House Democrats are poised to oust another senior panel leader after ailing Rep. David Scott (D-Ga.), 79, lost a vote in the influential Steering panel Monday.

Scott lost the steering committee vote in the first round of voting Monday, according to three people familiar with the matter who were not authorized to speak publicly. Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.) won the vote outright on the first ballot. The result all but ensures Scott will lose his bid to stay on as the top Democrat on the Agriculture panel next year.

Craig, 52, is in a strong position to take the top Democratic spot on on the Agriculture Committee after receiving 34 votes from the steering panel. Rep. Jim Costa (D-Calif.), 72, who was also in the running for the ranking member position, came in second with 22 votes. Scott received 5 votes.

The full Democratic House caucus will vote Tuesday. Scott failed to garner the support of every Black Caucus member on the steering committee, according to two other people.

The formal move against Scott comes after years of pressure from rank-and-file Democrats, who complain he has not been an effective committee leader. It also reflects the larger effort among House Democrats to force out senior panel leaders ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s return to power with a GOP trifecta next year.

Since 2021, Scott has defied private calls from fellow Democrats to step down from his committee role amid concerns about his health, lack of leadership and struggle to negotiate the $1.5 trillion farm bill. Those calls have built since the election, especially after Costa and Craig launched their own bids for the ranking member job.

Scott, who became the first Black chair of the Agriculture Committee in 2021, has long been protected by Democratic leaders and the powerful Congressional Black Caucus. But those alliances have crumbled, especially in the last few weeks.

As recently as last Wednesday, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries declined to support Scott when asked in a brief hallway interview about the Georgia Democrats’ health and whether he should be reelected to the role for the next Congress.

Scott has also been hemorrhaging support among the Black Caucus. Younger CBC members have long been more open to replacing Scott. But in a stunning shift, even some senior CBC members have recently and openly mulled the potential of backing one of Scott’s challengers.

Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), the top Democrat on the Homeland Security panel, said in a recent interview that he hadn’t made up his mind whether to stick behind Scott.

“But I do want someone who … can carry the Democratic message far and wide,” Thompson said. “We need the strongest voice.”