Rep. Austin Scott (R-GA) is the latest Member of the House of Representatives to throw his name in to the contest for Speaker of the House. The 53 year old Scott’s candidacy is seen more as a gauge for just how much of the House Republican Conference remains opposed to Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) than an actual serious attempt to be elected Speaker.
The Georgia Republican was first elected to Congress during the Red Wave of 2010 fueled by the Tea Party movement – although Scott’s own voting record is more reflective of an establishment Republican rather than a small-government Tea Party conservative. Scott has a 78 percent lifetime score on votes important to conservatives according to Heritage Action. On votes to limit mass migration, NumbersUSA gives Scott an “A-“. Scott backed Marco Rubio in 2016 and called Donald Trump “reprehensible”.
According to the X (formerly Twitter) account Unusual Whales – which tracks stock trades engaged in by Members of Congress – Scott was the top political trader in 2021. Scott realized a 780 percent gain on 1,000 shares he purchased in FuelCell Energy in just under 3 months – from October of 2020 to January of 2021. At the time, Scott sat on the House Agriculture Committee’s Commodity Exchanges, Energy & Credit subcommittee, a role which could have given Scott additional insights into FuelCell Energy’s business.
Scott is married with three children, and was the first Republican to work with Democrats to remove Confederate flags from his home state’s flags and emblems. He has served on the Agriculture Committee, Armed Services, and Intelligence. He is part of the Republican Study Committee and NATO Parliamentary Assembly.
BREAKING: Rep Austin Scott is running to be Speaker of the House.
In 2021, he was the top political trader.
He sold FuelCell Energy, $FCEL, on 2021-01-14, after buying on 2020-10-30, for a 780% gain.
He sat on the Commodity Exchanges, Energy & Credit subcommittee.
Wild.
— unusual_whales (@unusual_whales) October 13, 2023