Austin Scott
ATLANTA – U.S. Rep. Austin Scott, R-Tifton, announced Friday he is running for speaker of the House.
Scott’s announcement came at the end of a week that saw the House Republican Caucus nominate Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., for the top leadership post behind closed doors, only to have Scalise withdraw his bid after failing to secure enough votes to win.
Scalise and Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee had entered the race for speaker last week after House Republicans ousted then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., who won the speakership in January after 15 floor votes over multiple days that exposed GOP divisions for the world to see.
“We are in Washington to legislate,” Scott said Friday in a prepared statement with a not-so-subtle reference to the House’s inability to get anything done while the speaker position remains vacant. “I want to lead a House that functions in the best interest of the American people.”
Scott has compiled a conservative voting record in the House but was highly critical of the handful of far-right House Republicans who voted to oust McCarthy. He also voted late last month in favor of legislation to avoid a government shutdown.
Scott, 53, is serving his seventh term in the House representing Georgia’s 8th Congressional District, which covers a large swath of Middle and South Georgia from Milledgeville to Valdosta. He is a member of the House Agriculture and Armed Services committees, both vital to the interests of his largely rural district.
Before going to Washington, he was a longtime member of the state House of Representatives, first winning election at the age of 26. He owned and operated an insurance brokerage firm for nearly 20 years.
Scott graduated from the University of Georgia with a degree in risk management and insurance.