Rep. David Scott (D-Ga.) skipped an interview on Wednesday with the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) as the race heats up for the top Democratic seat on the House Agriculture Committee — a move that frustrated some CBC members as they vet the various candidates.
Scott is currently the ranking member of the powerful panel, but a pair of junior Democrats — Reps. Jim Costa (D-Calif.) and Angie Craig (D-Minn.) — are vying for that spot in the next Congress.
The CBC had invited all three candidates to meet with the group on Wednesday. Costa and Craig participated, but Scott did not.
Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) said Scott, who is also a member of the CBC, would have been a shoo-in for the post based on his seniority — at least in the eyes of the CBC — but Scott's absence might cause members of the group to reconsider.
"Obviously, if David had chosen to participate, it would have been easy. He's there. But you have to participate. ... And when you choose an alternate path to participation it could come back to haunt you," Thompson said.
"It was a lot of concern — and support," Thompson continued. "But I don't think it would have been an issue had he decided to come. [Scott's absence] gives people reason to do something else."
Scott's office did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday evening.
The race is heating up as Democrats are newly engaged in an age-old debate over how much weight to give seniority in deciding top committee spots. The CBC, for years, has fervently supported the idea of giving primacy to seniority, arguing that the system has given overdue power to minority lawmakers who were denied that authority for most of the country's history.
But they've also softened that position in recent cycles. And CBC leaders last week emphasized that, while seniority should be a major factor in choosing committee posts, it should not be the only one.
"Seniority without competency, or without ability, is a challenge," said Rep. Troy Carter (D-La.). "So we will make sure that we will give deference to seniority, but we want the very best person to serve."
Craig, for her part, was quick to acknowledge the importance of honoring experience, especially if it helps to correct a long history of racial injustice. She noted that she was one of Scott's most vocal supporters on the Agriculture Committee when he rose to the top seat on the panel in 2020.
But Craig also said there's a time for a changing of the guard, and on the Agriculture Committee, that time is now.
"I respect seniority in our system. It's led to, historically, a number of folks that had been underrepresented getting chairmanships. Certainly, David Scott was the most senior person, and I supported him," Craig said.
"But I also believe there are moments of time in a party, and in our system, where we realize we need new direction, and perhaps new thinking, and new ideas," she added. "And I hope the Democratic caucus is open to that right now."
