Summary
Timothy Scott was born in 1965 and is currently serving as the junior United States Senator from South Carolina. Senator Scott’s seat will be up for election in 2028. Senator Scott ran unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination for U.S. President in 2024.
Scott was first appointed to the U.S. Senate to represent South Carolina by then-Governor Nikki Haley to replace retiring Jim DeMint. Scott won a special election in 2014 and was elected to a full term in 2016. Previously, he represented the 1st Congressional District of South Carolina in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2011 until 2013. In his political career, Scott has also served in the South Carolina General Assembly and on the Charleston County council.
Senator Scott is currently serving on the Finance Committee; the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee; the Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee; the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee; and the Special Committee on Aging.
Below is Senator Scott’s voting record and public positions on issues important to the Jewish community.
Senator Scott opposed the Iran nuclear deal. He supported the move of the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem. He supported the Taylor Force Act, which states that no American governmental funds shall be given to a Palestinian entity that financially rewards terrorists or their families. He also criticized the UN Security Council Resolution 2334, which claimed that Israel’s settlements have no legal validity, and cosponsored legislation that objected the resolution.
In 2018, Senator Scott cosponsored the United States-Israel Security Assistance Authorization Act, a legislation that supported full funding of security assistance to Israel as outlined in the 2016 U.S.-Israel Memorandum of Understanding. Senator Scott opposes the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement and cosponsored the Israel Anti-Boycott Act and the Combating BDS Act of 2017, two bills that aim to fight discriminatory boycotts that target Israel.
In 2019, he voted for the Strengthening America’s Middle East Security Act which, among other things, strengthened Israel’s security and allowed a state or local government to adopt measures to divest its assets from entities that boycott Israel.
He introduced the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act of 2019, which aims to provide for the consideration of a definition of anti-Semitism for the enforcement of Federal antidiscrimination laws concerning education programs or activities.
