Tim Scott facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Tim Scott
Official portrait, 2018
United States Senator from South Carolina
Incumbent
Assumed office January 2, 2013 Serving with Lindsey Graham
Preceded by	Jim DeMint
Committee positions Chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee Incumbent Assumed office January 3, 2025 Leader John Thune Preceded by Steve Daines Chair of the Senate Banking Committee Incumbent Assumed office January 3, 2025 Preceded by Sherrod Brown Ranking Member of the Senate Banking Committee In office January 3, 2023 – January 3, 2025 Preceded by Pat Toomey Succeeded by Elizabeth Warren Ranking Member of the Senate Aging Committee In office February 3, 2021 – January 3, 2023 Preceded by Bob Casey Jr. Succeeded by Mike Braun
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from South Carolina's 1st district
In office January 3, 2011 – January 2, 2013
Preceded by	Henry E. Brown Jr.
Succeeded by	Mark Sanford
Member of the South Carolina House of Representatives from the 117th district
In office January 3, 2009 – January 3, 2011
Preceded by	Tom Dantzler
Succeeded by	Bill Crosby
Member of the Charleston County Council from the 3rd district
In office February 8, 1995 – January 3, 2009
Preceded by	Keith Summey
Succeeded by	Elliott Summey
Personal details
Born	Timothy Eugene Scott (1965-09-19) September 19, 1965 (age 59) North Charleston, South Carolina, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Mindy Noce ​ (m. 2024)​
Education	Presbyterian College Charleston Southern University (BS)
Signature

Timothy Eugene Scott (born September 19, 1965) is an American politician and businessman. He has been a U.S. Senator for South Carolina since 2013. He is a member of the Republican Party.

Before becoming a senator, he served in several other government roles. He was a member of the Charleston County Council. He also served as a state representative and a U.S. Representative.

Tim Scott has made history in the U.S. Senate. He is the longest-serving Black senator ever. He is also the first Black person to serve in both the U.S. House and Senate. After the 2024 elections, he was chosen to lead the National Republican Senatorial Committee. He will also lead the Senate Banking Committee starting in 2025.

In 2023, Scott ran for president in the 2024 Republican Party presidential primaries. He stopped his campaign later that year.

Early Life and Education

Tim Scott was born on September 19, 1965, in North Charleston, South Carolina. His mother worked hard as a nursing assistant to support him and his older brother. When he was seven, his parents divorced. He and his brother grew up in a working-class family.

After his parents divorced, Scott lived with his grandparents. He became very close with his grandfather. In high school, he struggled with some subjects. His mother sent him to summer school, and he worked at a movie theater to pay for it. There, he met John Moniz, who owned a Chick-fil-A. Moniz became a mentor to Scott. He taught him about responsibility, business, and helping others.

Scott enjoyed sports, especially football. He was elected student body vice president and then president in high school. A car accident before his senior year affected his football plans. He went to Presbyterian College on a partial football scholarship. Later, he transferred to Charleston Southern University. He graduated in 1988 with a degree in political science. After college, he worked as an insurance agent and financial adviser. He eventually started his own insurance agency.

Early Political Career

Serving on Charleston County Council (1995–2009)

Tim Scott first ran for the Charleston County Council in 1995. He won the election as a Republican. This made him the first Black Republican elected to any office in South Carolina since the late 1800s. He was reelected to the Council in 2000 and 2004.

Scott served on the Council until 2009. In 2007, he became its chairman. In 1997, he supported putting the Ten Commandments outside the council chambers. He believed it would remind members of important rules. The council approved it, but a lawsuit followed. The council settled the case to avoid more legal costs.

In 2001, the U.S. Department of Justice sued Charleston County. They said the way council members were elected (by the whole county) was unfair to Black voters. The Justice Department argued that this method made it hard for Black voters to elect their preferred candidates. Scott, the only Black member of the council, disagreed with the lawsuit. He preferred that everyone vote for all seats, rather than dividing the county into smaller districts.

However, the Department of Justice won the case. The county had to change how it elected council members. After this, Scott was elected to the Charleston County Council from a specific district, not the whole county.

South Carolina State Representative (2009–2011)

In 2008, Tim Scott ran for a seat in the South Carolina House of Representatives. He won the Republican primary and then the general election without opposition. He became the first Black Republican State Representative in South Carolina in over 100 years.

As a state representative, Scott supported laws that made it easier for businesses to operate. He believed these laws helped bring jobs to South Carolina.

U.S. House of Representatives (2011–2013)

Elections to Congress

In 2010, Scott decided to run for the U.S. House of Representatives. He ran for South Carolina's 1st congressional district. This district includes Charleston and much of the state's coastline. He won the Republican primary after a runoff election. He then won the general election against his Democratic opponent.

Scott's official 112th Congress portrait

With this election, Scott became one of the first two African-American Republicans in Congress since 2003. He was also the first African-American Republican elected to Congress from South Carolina in 114 years. In 2012, he was reelected to his House seat without opposition in the primary.

Time in the House

In Congress, Scott worked on several important issues. He supported a bill that would change rules for food stamps. He also introduced a bill to limit the power of the National Labor Relations Board. This board helps resolve issues between workers and employers. Scott believed government agencies should not tell private businesses where they can operate.

He also helped get federal money for a project to deepen the Charleston harbor. This project would allow larger cargo ships to use the port, creating jobs. During a debate about raising the U.S. debt ceiling in 2011, Scott supported adding a balanced-budget amendment to the bill. He voted against the final bill because it did not include this amendment.

Scott speaking at a Veterans Day event in 2011

U.S. Senate (2013–Present)

Becoming a Senator

On December 17, 2012, South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley chose Tim Scott to become a U.S. Senator. He filled a vacant seat left by Senator Jim DeMint. Scott became the first African-American U.S. Senator from South Carolina. He was also the first African American to be a U.S. Senator from the Southern United States since the Reconstruction Era after the Civil War.

Governor Haley said she chose Scott because he had earned the seat through his hard work and results.

Senate Elections

Scott ran in a special election in 2014 to serve the rest of DeMint's term. He won this election. He was then elected to a full six-year term in 2016 and reelected in 2022.

In 2018, Scott worked with other senators to introduce a bill. This bill would make lynching a federal hate crime. In 2021, Scott gave the Republican response to President Biden's speech to Congress.

Key Work in the Senate

Scott with President Donald Trump in 2017

Scott has focused on several important issues in the Senate.

Justice Act

Scott led the effort to create a bill about race and police reform, called the Justice Act. He said he wanted to draft the bill because he had experienced racial profiling by police himself.

The Justice Act included several proposals:

• It would require more federal reports on how police use force.
• It would increase penalties for false police reports.
• It would stop funding for police departments that allow chokeholds when deadly force is not needed.
• It would provide money for police body cameras.
• It would create a database of police disciplinary records to help with hiring.
• It would make lynching a federal crime.
• It would direct the Justice Department to provide training on de-escalation tactics.

Democrats wanted the bill to include more changes, such as limits on qualified immunity for police. The bill did not pass, even though some Democrats supported it.

Scott speaking at the 2014 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland

2024 Presidential Campaign

In February 2023, reports suggested that Tim Scott was thinking about running for president. He started a "listening tour" to visit different states and talk to people. On May 22, 2023, he officially announced his candidacy for president. He ran in the 2024 Republican Party presidential primaries.

Scott appeared on Fox News on November 12, 2023. He announced that he was ending his campaign. He made this decision because of low poll numbers.

Political Views

Taxes and Spending

Scott believes that the government should spend less money and collect fewer taxes. He supports a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution. He also supports the FairTax, which would change how taxes are collected.

Health Care

Scott believes the Affordable Care Act (ACA) should be ended. He says that American health care is excellent. He supports a different plan that he believes would keep the good parts of the ACA while lowering costs. This plan would change how medical lawsuits work and reform Medicare.

Economic Development

Scott supports building new roads, bridges, and other public projects. He also supports allowing oil drilling in deep waters. He helped create the idea of opportunity zones. These are areas where people get tax benefits for investing, which helps create jobs.

Immigration

Scott supports strict laws about immigration. He wants stronger penalties for businesses that hire people who are in the country illegally. He also believes that English should be the official language of the government. He thinks new immigrants should be required to learn English. He does not support a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.

Foreign Policy

Scott believes the U.S. should continue to have a military presence in Afghanistan. He thinks that leaving too soon would help terrorist groups. He sees Iran as a dangerous country and believes the U.S. should help groups that want democracy there. He was against the 2011 military intervention in Libya.

Scott has said that the U.S. should not negotiate with evil. He believes that Iran is the main problem when it comes to attacks by proxy forces.

China

In 2017, Scott supported a bill to make it harder for China to buy U.S. technology companies. This bill would allow the government to stop foreign purchases that might harm national security.

Trade

In 2018, Scott was one of many senators who asked President Donald Trump to keep the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in a new, updated form.

Environment

In 2017, Scott was one of 22 senators who asked President Donald Trump to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement. This agreement aims to fight climate change.

Judicial Nominations

Scott meets with Judge Brett Kavanaugh in July 2018

Scott has sometimes disagreed with his party on who should be appointed as judges. In 2018, he did not support the nomination of Ryan Bounds to a federal court. Scott said this was because of "bigoted statements" Bounds made in college.

Scott with Judge Amy Coney Barrett in September 2020

In November 2018, Scott also opposed the nomination of Thomas A. Farr for a federal judgeship. Scott was concerned about Farr's past involvement in campaigns that tried to make it harder for Black voters to cast ballots. Scott said the Republican Party needed to do a better job of addressing issues of race.

President Trump and Racism

In 2017, after a rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, Scott said that "Racism is real. It is alive." He commented on President Trump's statements about the rally. Scott said that while Trump first spoke strongly against hatred, his later comments made it seem like there was blame on both sides. Scott said he would not "defend the indefensible."

After meeting with Trump, Scott said the President was open to listening. Scott also asked Trump to delete tweets that criticized people protesting the murder of George Floyd. Scott said those tweets were "not constructive."

Personal Life

In May 2023, Tim Scott shared that he was in a relationship. In November 2023, he announced he was dating Mindy Noce, an interior designer. They announced their engagement in January 2024 and got married on August 3, 2024.

Before entering politics, Scott worked in insurance and real estate. He owned an insurance agency and was a partner in a real estate company. He is a member of Seacoast Church, a large church in Charleston.

Images for kids

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  Tim Scott's signature

See also

• Black conservatism in the United States
• Timeline of African-American firsts
• List of African-American Republicans
• List of African-American United States representatives
• List of African-American United States senators
• List of African-American United States Senate candidates