(Julianna Frieman, Headline USA) Rep. David Scott, D-Ga., reportedly shouted down an “a**hole” photographer outside the Capitol building Wednesday amid rising concerns about the 79-year-old’s cognitive decline.
Scott lashed out at Politico photographer Francis Chung with profanity as a staffer pushed his wheelchair into the building, Punchbowl News reported.
Dem Rep. David Scott, who was being pushed in a wheelchair by a staffer outside the Capitol after votes, reamed out a photographer for taking the congressman’s picture.
I saw and heard Scott yell: “Who gave you the right to take my picture, asshole?”
— Melanie Zanona (@MZanona) December 18, 2024
“Who gave you the right to take my picture, a**hole?” the septuagenarian reportedly yelled as his photo was snapped by Politico.
Scott’s spokesperson later doubled down on the elderly Democrat’s agitated comments, according to the New York Post. The Georgia congressman’s mouthpiece chided Chung, saying he should not be “tak[ing] a picture[s] of us as we’re trying to get into the Capitol” going forward.
The Politico photographer was also warned that he would soon feel the wrath of Scott as his handlers would be in contact with his editor, the outlet reported.
“I’m going to ask you very nicely to not do that,” the eleven-term representative’s team added. “We will be reaching out to your editor, whoever it is we have to reach out to.”
Scott frequently reads from a script and has “trouble” speaking on policy specifics, sources on Capitol Hill told Politico of the House Agriculture Committee chairman in late 2023 and early 2024. The declining Democrat has headed the committee since Jan. 2021.
Dem Rep. David Scott unloads on photographer outside Capitol: ‘Who gave you the right to take my picture, a–hole?’ https://t.co/lCU0DelDOi pic.twitter.com/UfU5EMdGp8
— New York Post (@nypost) December 20, 2024
One Democrat lawmaker told Punchbowl News in September that several members of Scott’s caucus do not believe he has the mental fitness to lead.
“I haven’t met a member who isn’t concerned,” a Democrat congressman said under condition of anonymity. “There was a lot of frustration heading into the markup. We needed to have a comms strategy and a legislative strategy, but it took us a long time to get that organized.”
Although he is a ranking member, Scott has notoriously left Agriculture Committee meetings early, the New York Post reported. One Democrat lawmaker told Politico that every person on the committee wants to replace the 79-year-old.
“David Scott is Exhibit A for term limits,” the Democrat lawmaker said. “He was a respected, talented member who has become diminished. And it’s painful for people to watch.”
Julianna Frieman is a freelance writer published by the Daily Caller, Headline USA, The Federalist, and the American Spectator. Follow her on Twitter at @JuliannaFrieman.
