David Scott, the Georgia Democrat who made history as the first Black chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, has died at the age of 80, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has confirmed.
Scott, who represented a district outside Atlanta, was first elected to Congress in 2002 and had been seeking a thirteenth term in the House at the time of his death. His passing removes one of the chamber’s longest-serving and most symbolically significant members from American political life.
Jeffries paid tribute to the congressman in remarks to 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 said. “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 had chaired the House Agriculture Committee, a position of considerable influence over US farming and food policy, before being succeeded as the panel’s top Democrat by Representative Angie Craig of Minnesota in 2024, as the party moved to install younger leadership on its committees.
His death adjusts the balance of power in the House, bringing the breakdown to 217 Republicans, 212 Democrats and one independent — Representative Kevin Kiley of California, who caucuses with Republicans. Under Georgia state law, the governor must call a special election within ten days of the vacancy being declared, with the election itself required to take place no sooner than 30 days after that announcement.
Scott’s passing follows a series of congressional deaths in recent years. Representatives Sylvester Turner of Texas, Raúl Grijalva of Arizona and Gerry Connolly of Virginia all died last year, while Republican Representative Doug LaMalfa of California passed away earlier this year.
