Rep. David Scott (D-Ga.) skipped an interview on Wednesday with the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) because the race heats up for the highest Democratic seat on the Home Agriculture Committee — a transfer that pissed off some CBC members as they vet the assorted candidates.
Scott is presently the rating member of the highly effective panel, however a pair of junior Democrats — Reps. Jim Costa (D-Calif.) and Angie Craig (D-Minn.) — are vying for that spot within the subsequent Congress.
The CBC had invited all three candidates to satisfy with the group on Wednesday. Costa and Craig participated, however Scott didn’t.
Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) stated Scott, who can be a member of the CBC, would have been a shoo-in for the publish based mostly on his seniority — at the least within the eyes of the CBC — however Scott’s absence would possibly trigger members of the group to rethink.
“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 stated.
“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 workplace didn’t reply to a request for remark Wednesday night.
The race is heating up as Democrats are newly engaged in an age-old debate over how a lot weight to offer seniority in deciding prime committee spots. The CBC, for years, has fervently supported the thought of giving primacy to seniority, arguing that the system has given overdue energy to minority lawmakers who have been denied that authority for many of the nation’s historical past.
However they’ve additionally softened that place in latest cycles. And CBC leaders final week emphasised that, whereas seniority must be a significant factor in selecting committee posts, it shouldn’t be the one one.
“Seniority without competency, or without ability, is a challenge,” stated 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 half, was fast to acknowledge the significance of honoring expertise, particularly if it helps to right a protracted historical past of racial injustice. She famous that she was one in all Scott’s most vocal supporters on the Agriculture Committee when he rose to the highest seat on the panel in 2020.
However Craig additionally stated there is a time for a altering of the guard, and on the Agriculture Committee, that point 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 stated.
“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.”
