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U.S. Senator from South Carolina

Tim Scott

Republican · South Carolina

First Black Republican elected to the Senate from the South since Reconstruction. Former House member. Ran for president in 2024. Opportunity Zones creator. Focus on economic empowerment.

Record

Conservative Republican with focus on economic empowerment. Created Opportunity Zones tax incentive in underserved communities. Led bipartisan police reform negotiations (ultimately failed). Delivers Republican perspective on racial equality.

Legislative Record

Recently sponsored bills (8 on record)

  • S.5096 — Support for Expectant and Parenting Foster Youth Act (Introduced, Jul 23, 2026)
  • S.4882 — ICTS Supply Chain Security Act of 2026 (Introduced, Jun 24, 2026)
  • S.4793 — Foreign-Trade Zone Export Enhancement Act of 2026 (Introduced, Jun 16, 2026)
  • S.4767 — Renewing the African American Civil Rights Network Act (Introduced, Jun 11, 2026)
  • S.4761 — Tax Court Parity Act (Introduced, Jun 11, 2026)
  • S.4528 — IGNITE HBCU Excellence Act (Introduced, May 14, 2026)
  • S.4440 — Clinical Trial Modernization Act (Introduced, Apr 29, 2026)
    Clinical Trial Modernization Act This bill authorizes a grant program and provides certain exemptions to support the participation of individuals in clinical trials. Specifically, the bill authorizes a grant program to support outreach, education, and recruitment efforts for clinical trials that may…
  • S.4242 — Supporting Pregnant and Parenting Women and Families Act (Introduced, Mar 26, 2026)

Notable votes

  • Voted Yea on S.Res. 817 — S. Res. 817 (Resolution Agreed to, Jul 30, 2026)
  • Voted Yea on S.Res. 817 — Motion to Invoke Cloture: S. Res. 817 (Cloture Motion Agreed to, Jul 29, 2026)
  • Voted Yea on H.R. 6644 — Motion to Invoke Cloture: Motion to Concur in the House Amendment to the Senate Amendment to H.R. 6644 with an Amendment (SA 5823) (Cloture Motion Agreed to, Jun 18, 2026)
  • Voted Yea on S. 2 — S. 2, As Amended (Bill Passed, Jun 5, 2026)
  • Voted Nay on S. 2 — Cortez Masto Amdt. No. 5463 (Amendment Rejected, Jun 5, 2026)
  • Voted Nay on S. 2 — Padilla Amdt. No. 5808 (Amendment Rejected, Jun 5, 2026)
  • Voted Nay on S. 2 — Gallego Amdt. No. 5813 (Amendment Rejected, Jun 5, 2026)
  • Voted Nay on S. 2 — Peters Amdt. No. 5763 (Amendment Rejected, Jun 5, 2026)

Recently cosponsored bills (12 on record)

  • S.3103 — A bill to authorize the extension of nondiscriminatory treatment (normal trade relations treatment) to products of certain countries. (Introduced, Jul 23, 2026)
  • S.5116 — A bill to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require the standards for accreditation of an institution of higher education to assess the institution's adoption of admissions practices that refrain from preferential treatment in admissions based on an applicant's relationship to alumni of, or donors to, the institution, to authorize a feasibility study on data collection, and for other purposes. (Introduced, Jul 23, 2026)
  • S.5025 — Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia Act of 2026 (Introduced, Jul 16, 2026)
  • S.424 — Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025 (Introduced, Jul 14, 2026)
  • S.4843 — Enhancing Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Through Campus Planning Act (Introduced, Jun 18, 2026)
  • S.4759 — Tax Relief for Innocent Spouses Act (Introduced, Jun 11, 2026)
  • S.4689 — READ Act (Reported, Jun 4, 2026)
  • S.4632 — Prevent Government Shutdowns Act of 2026 (Introduced, May 21, 2026)

Voting analysis

Tim Scott chairs the Senate banking committee and sits ex officio across its subcommittees. He also misses more votes than nearly every other senator — a combination of institutional authority and floor absence that few members present.

11.4%
Roll calls recorded as not voting
220
Roll calls eligible to vote on
25
Recorded as not voting

As elsewhere, the figure counts recorded participation and implies nothing about cause. It does mean the rate below is drawn from fewer decisions than most colleagues'.

4.6%
Votes against the Republican majority
195
Roll calls where a party majority formed
32 of 51
Rank among Senate Republicans, most defections first

Both sides of a surveillance bill

His departures cluster on one measure in a revealing way: he voted against the bill at passage, and separately supported two amendments to it — one from a Republican colleague, one from a Democrat — that the chamber rejected. Backing amendments from both parties and then opposing the result describes a member who wanted the bill substantially rewritten. He also opposed another bill at passage and voted against a colleague's amendment elsewhere.

All 9 roll calls where Tim Scott voted against the Senate Republican majority.
Roll callDateOutcomeTheir vote
H.R. 1968
Paul Amdt. No. 1266
On the Amendment S.Amdt. 1266 to H.R. 1968 (No short title on file) · roll call 119		Mar 14, 2025Amendment RejectedNay (party: Yea)
H.R. 9747
On Passage of the Bill H.R. 9747 · roll call 118		Sep 25, 2024Bill PassedNay (party: Yea)
H.R. 7888
On Passage of the Bill H.R. 7888 · roll call 118		Apr 19, 2024Bill PassedNay (party: Yea)
H.R. 7888
Lee Amdt No. 1840
On the Amendment S.Amdt. 1840 to H.R. 7888 (No short title on file) · roll call 118		Apr 19, 2024Amendment RejectedYea (party: Nay)
H.R. 7888
Durbin Amdt No. 1841 as Modified
On the Amendment S.Amdt. 1841 to H.R. 7888 (No short title on file) · roll call 118		Apr 19, 2024Amendment RejectedYea (party: Nay)
H.R. 7888
Wyden Amdt No. 1820
On the Amendment S.Amdt. 1820 to H.R. 7888 (No short title on file) · roll call 118		Apr 19, 2024Amendment RejectedYea (party: Nay)
H.R. 7888
Marshall Amdt No. 1834
On the Amendment S.Amdt. 1834 to H.R. 7888 (No short title on file) · roll call 118		Apr 19, 2024Amendment RejectedYea (party: Nay)
H.R. 7888
Motion to Invoke Cloture: Motion to Proceed to H.R. 7888
On the Cloture Motion H.R. 7888 · roll call 118		Apr 18, 2024Cloture Motion Agreed toNay (party: Yea)
H.R. 2872
H.R. 2872, As Amended
On Passage of the Bill H.R. 2872 · roll call 118		Jan 18, 2024Bill PassedNay (party: Yea)

Both South Carolina seats

South Carolina's junior seat fell vacant in the summer on the death of the senator who had held it since the early years of the century. Whoever occupies a seat mid-term inherits no voting history, and his newly appointed colleague has not sat long enough for a rate to carry meaning. That leaves Scott the only measurable half of a two-member delegation, and no average to stand above or below.

What he legislates on

His bills favour trade and civil rights infrastructure: the Foreign-Trade Zone Export Enhancement Act, the ICTS Supply Chain Security Act, a renewal of the African American Civil Rights Network, support for expectant and parenting foster youth, and the Tax Court Parity Act.

Sponsored bills carry the Congressional Research Service's own subject classification. Tim Scott's cluster into: Foreign Trade and International Finance (2), Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues (1), Education (1), Families (1), Taxation (1).

468
Bills sponsored
1909
Bills cosponsored

Of the 8 most recent of those, 8 currently sit at Introduced.

Tenure

Scott's service spans both chambers and reaches back to the start of the twenty-tens, placing him among the veterans under a single party label.

First elected in 2011, now serving across 8 terms. Tim Scott falls in the veteran cohort.

By the numbers

In the 119th Congress, Tim Scott has 468 bills sponsored, 1909 cosponsored, 8 recent floor votes recorded.

Committee assignments

  • Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs (Chairman)
  • Senate Committee on Finance
  • Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
  • Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship
  • Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: Digital Assets (Ex Officio)
  • Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: Economic Policy (Ex Officio)
  • Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: Financial Institutions and Consumer Protection (Ex Officio)
  • Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: Housing, Transportation, and Community Development (Ex Officio)
  • Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: National Security and International Trade and Finance (Ex Officio)
  • Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: Securities, Insurance, and Investment (Ex Officio)
  • Senate Committee on Finance: Energy, Natural Resources, and Infrastructure
  • Senate Committee on Finance: Health Care

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