Rep. David Scott (D-Ga.) \u2014 the committee\u2019s current ranking member \u2014 faces a challenge from fellow Democrats Reps. Jim Costa (Calif.) and Angie Craig (D-Minn.) for the post in the next Congress. And, according to more than two dozen House Democratic lawmakers and aides granted anonymity to discuss the matter, Scott is poised to lose the vote if he doesn\u2019t step aside before then.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe race is against Costa and Craig at this point,\u201d said one House Democratic lawmaker. \u201cScott is done.\u201d<\/p>\n

If he loses, Scott would be the third septuagenarian House Democrat push out of a committee leadership role in the new Congress \u2014 along with Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), who ended bids to continue as ranking members on the House Natural Resources and House Judiciary Committees following challenges from younger Democrats. And it would be a sign of just how strongly the party wants to turn the page on an older generation of leaders, particularly after losing an election many blame on 82-year President Joe Biden\u2019s initial decision to run for a second term.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s in the air. People want heads to roll on our side,\u201d a House Democratic aide said.<\/p>\n

At this point, Scott can only survive if the powerful Steering Committee recommends him for the post again when the panel meets next Monday. Such a move would essentially block Costa and Craig from consideration. But House Democrats, including several on the Steering panel, don\u2019t expect that to happen.<\/p>\n

Costa has strong ties to a bloc of senior Democrats on the Steering panel who have been pushing for him. Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has also been telling members she is supporting Costa in the race and trying to advocate for him, according to three people familiar with the conversations. Craig meanwhile is a frontline Democrat who has a strong relationship with Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and his leadership team. Jeffries, according to Democratic lawmakers, hasn’t discouraged her or any other Democrat from challenging Scott<\/a> and additional senior panel leaders. <\/p>\n

Spokespeople for Jeffries and Pelosi declined to comment. <\/p>\n

Costa, a Congressional Hispanic Caucus member, also secured the endorsement of the influential caucus Tuesday, according to two people familiar with the closed-door meeting.<\/p>\n

Separate discussions are also underway among some members who are searching for a way for the Steering Committee to refrain from making any recommendation on the Agriculture panel race \u2014 which would effectively greenlight Scott\u2019s ouster without the panel having to overtly move against him. <\/p>\n

Scott, 79, has faced a number of behind-the-scenes attempts<\/u><\/a> to remove him as the Agriculture Committee\u2019s leading Democrat in recent years, as Blue Light News has reported<\/u><\/a>. He became the first Black chair of the Agriculture Committee in 2021, and then stayed on as ranking member in 2023. But a growing group of fellow Democrats have complained<\/u><\/a> to party leaders that he is no longer able to effectively lead the committee, which faces critical negotiations on a $1.5 trillion farm bill in the next Congress.<\/p>\n

Spokespeople for Scott did not respond to an inquiry. But Rep. Sanford Bishop (D-Ga.), who still supports Scott, said his fellow Georgia Democrat indicated in a recent conversation that he was staying in the Agriculture panel race.<\/p>\n

Scott missed two weeks of votes last month<\/u><\/a> to receive treatment for back problems, and currently relies on a wheelchair to get around the Capitol. And he has shed so much personal staff in recent years that his 26-year-old chief of staff, who was recently promoted from legislative assistant, is one of the few people left in his office to navigate the fallout as members dig in to oust remove Scott from his leadership role.<\/p>\n

Scott won his post with the support of then-Speaker Pelosi and the powerful Congressional Black Caucus, but those alliances are now crumbling.<\/p>\n

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who himself represents a new generation of Democratic leadership, has not<\/u><\/a>publicly backed Scott as strongly in recent month<\/a>as Pelosi once did. Jeffries and his leadership team also made the rare move last year to start personally attending several meetings with Scott and his agriculture panel Democrats after members continued to raise alarms about Scott. <\/p>\n

In private conversations with rank-and-file members, Jeffries and his team have taken concerns about Scott seriously, according to three Democratic lawmakers familiar with the conversations.<\/p>\n

The CBC is navigating its own generational divide on the matter and has so far stayed silent on the challenges to Scott\u2019s leadership in the next Congress, despite strongly pushing back on an effort to replace him in 2022<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think he has the capacity,\u201d said one younger House Democrat who is a CBC member, who was granted anonymity to candidly discuss the matter. \u201cI\u2019m leaning towards Angie.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked if younger members within the Black Caucus are more willing to oust Scott compared to the older guard who\u2019ve long backed the Georgia Democrat, the young CBC member responded: \u201cAbsolutely.\u201d<\/p>\n