Georgia U.S. Rep. David Scott Loses House Ag Committee Post as Dems Shuffle Leadership

By Stanley Dunlap

Georgia U.S. Rep. David Scott of Atlanta will no longer be the ranking member of the House Agriculture Committee following the House Democratic Caucus’ vote Tuesday to appoint Minnesota Rep. Angie Craig to the position.

Craig, who is entering her fourth term, was one of three House Democrats to be awarded leadership positions Tuesday, completing a post-election shakeup that saw some longtime lawmakers ousted.

The caucus voted to make Craig the top Democrat on House Agriculture, Virginia’s Gerry Connolly the ranking member on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee and California’s Jared Huffman the ranking member of House Natural Resources, according to announcements posted to X.

Health concerns have prevented the 79-year-old Scott from voting at some Agricultural committee meetings, but he has remained active in sponsoring bills and recently negotiating a contentious farm bill extension.

Scott dropped his bid Monday to return as the ranking Democrat on the committee. Rep. Jim Costa of California also sought the position, which is the most senior member from a minority party serving on a congressional committee.

In 2020, Scott became the first Georgia lawmaker and African American chairman of the influential committee, which oversees a variety of government programs, including school meals and farming. Scott became the committee’s ranking member in 2023 after Republicans gained majority control of the House chamber and he lost his chairmanship.

Georgia continues to have a presence on the committee that exerts influence over the state’s $74 billion agricultural industry. Republican Rep. Austin Scott of Tifton and Democratic Rep. Sanford Bishop of Albany are also members of the committee. Georgia Democratic U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock serves on his chamber’s Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee.

The House committee’s most significant piece of legislation is the farm bill, which provides about $6 billion annually for conservation efforts and establishes guidelines for U.S. agriculture and food policies. Congress is still debating details of the next farm bill proposal.

David Scott and Michigan Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow, chairwoman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, released a statement Saturday blaming Republicans lawmakers for failing to strike a deal on a $10 billion proposal for a farm bill extension intended to assist farmers.

“It is important to stress that this proposal is paid for and does not take any funding away from the critical natural disaster aid that has been requested,” the statement says. “Their eleventh-hour offer fell short of what farmers need, shortchanged critical farm bill programs, and steals from critically needed assistance to address recent natural disasters. We can and should do both economic and disaster assistance, not pit one against the other.”

Raskin Happy, Progressives Disappointed

Except for Connolly, who won a race against New York progressive Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, all the committee promotions came at the expense of senior leadership.

Connolly will move into the spot vacated by Maryland’s Jamie Raskin, who ran for the top Democratic spot on the powerful House Judiciary Committee.

Connolly’s win over Ocasio-Cortez represented the lone victory for a more senior member among the contested committee elections. The Virginian won election to his ninth term last month, while Ocasio-Cortez won her fourth.

States Newsroom Washington deputy bureau chief Jacob Fischler contributed to this report. 

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