Rep. David Scott (D-Ga.) has died, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries announced Wednesday.
Scott, the first Black chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture, was 80.
“Congressman Scott’s passing is deeply sad,” Jeffries told reporters. “David Scott was a trailblazer who served the district that he represented admirably, rose up from humble beginnings to become the first African American ever to chair the House [Agriculture] Committee. He cared about the people that he represented.
“He was fiercely committed to getting things done for the people of the great state of Georgia, and he’ll be deeply missed.”
Scott was elected to Congress in 2002. He was currently running for re-election for a 13th term in the House.
He was replaced as the chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture by Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn., in 2024.
The party was looking to bring in younger committee leadership.
With his death, the party breakdown in the House is now 217 Republicans, 212 Democrats and one independent.
