Scott becomes longest-serving Black senator

Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) has become the longest-serving Black senator in U.S. history, as the 119th Congress begins on Friday.

Scott was appointed to the Senate in 2012 by then-Gov. Nikki Haley (R) after Sen. Jim DeMint (R) resigned. At the time, he was the first Black Republican senator since 1978 and the first Black Republican senator from the South since Reconstruction.

Before Scott, Republican Sen. Edward Brooke (Mass), who held office from 1967 until 1979, was the longest-serving Black senator.

This session, Scott will also serve as the first Black chairman of a Senate standing committee when he assumes the top spot on the Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee.

“My goal is simple: make America work for Americans,” Scott said in a statement. “As we get to work cleaning up the mess from the previous administration, I look forward to working with President Trump on his priorities, including paving a path for all Americans to have the necessary tools and resources to achieve their version of the American Dream. We will unlock opportunity, strengthen our nation, and make America the shining city on the Hill again.”

The descendants of enslaved Africans, Scott entered politics in 1994 when he decided to campaign for the Charleston County council.

When he was elected in 1995, he was the first Black American elected to any office in South Carolina since 1902.

Scott continued to make history when, in 2010, he became the first Black Republican from the Palmetto State to serve in the House since 1897.

Scott became a household name when he briefly launched his own 2024 bid for the White House, but soon suspended it and began to stump for former President Trump. He has been an ardent supporter ever since.

Scott will serve alongside four other Black senators this Congress: Democratic Sens. Raphael Warnock (Ga.), Cory Booker (N.J.), Angela Alsobrooks (Md.) and Lisa Blunt Rochester (Del.). It is the largest group of Black senators serving together at one time.

Topics

Full interview: Senate Majority Leader John Thune

Margaret Brennan spoke with Sen. John Thune (SD-R) in his first sit down interview as Senate Majority Leader. Watch Margaret Brennan's full interview with Sen. Thune here, a portion of which aired ...
CBS News - 14m
As new Senate gets underway, Thune vows to uphold Senate filibuster

Sen. John Thune used his first few minutes of floor time to make a commitment to defend the filibuster rule, which requires at least 60 votes to pass Senate legislation.
ABC News - 1d
Tim Scott becomes longest-serving Black senator in US history

Sixty years after Black Americans gained the right to vote, Sen. Tim Scott has made history, becoming the longest-serving African American in the United States Senate.
ABC News - 2d
Schiff's swearing-in sets record in U.S. Senate

Sen. Adam Schiff's (D-Calif.) swearing-in for a full six-year term in the upper chamber this week set a U.S. record, as the 119th Congress convened for the first time Friday. The Democrat from ...
The Hill - 21h
Harris ribs Sanders during official Senate swearing-in

Vice President Harris gently ribbed Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) during the official Senate swearing-in on Friday. "Stand right here. Although that is not your nature, to just stand where you're ...
The Hill - 1d
Watch live: Harris swears in new senators

Vice President Harris will open the Senate for the 119th Congress Friday afternoon, swearing in members as the GOP prepares to take control of the upper chamber. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) is poised ...
The Hill - 1d
Thune says preserving the Senate filibuster will be a top priority

Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) in his first prepared address as Senate majority leader says “preserving” the filibuster will be one of his top priorities, making an early move to quash any talk of major ...
The Hill - 1d
Meet the new senators being sworn in to Congress in 2025

The Senate is convening for the start of the 119th Congress on Friday, with a dozen new senators joining the upper chamber.
CBS News - 1d
Ridley Scott is a genius film-maker who can do anything – even start a political crisis in Malta

It wouldn’t be a press tour without the Gladiator II director saying something contentious, and now he’s managed to upset big cheeses on the Mediterranean island. For a while, it looked as if ...
The Guardian - 3d