by Graham Moomaw, Virginia Mercury

The chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia said Thursday that he’ll make “personnel changes” after the party published a social media post attacking House Speaker Don Scott, D-Portsmouth, over the decades-old drug conviction he moved past to become the first Black person to lead the House of Delegates.

“Is it any surprise that @DonScott757 spent 8 years in federal prison for peddling drugs to college kids, and now he’s obsessed with legislation to cut breaks for drug dealers? Anything for your buddies, right?” the Virginia GOP account said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, around noon Thursday.

The post was deleted, but screenshots captured by other users sparked condemnation from both sides of the political spectrum, including a denunciation by Gov. Glenn Youngkin.

On Thursday afternoon, RPV Chairman Rich Anderson said the post “does not reflect my values or that of my party.”

“I had neither seen nor approved the tweet—but the buck stops with me,” Anderson said on X. “I directed its immediate removal and will be making personnel changes effective today.”

The controversy came just weeks after Scott’s ascension to the speakership drew bipartisan praise as a story of redemption and difficulty overcome. Scott, a U.S. Navy veteran, served nearly eight years in federal prison after a drug conviction in 1994, an episode he recently described as his life’s “lowest” moment. Now a lawyer, Scott joined the House in 2020.

In his own social media response, Youngkin called his party’s comment about Scott “unforgivable.”

“Today, I’ve personally expressed to Speaker Scott my deep respect for him and his life journey, this kind of personal attack has no place in Virginia or anywhere,” Youngkin said.

House Minority Leader Todd Gilbert, R-Shenandoah, who heatedly clashed with Scott and other Democratic leaders earlier this week in a floor battle over abortion, also stood up for his colleague across the aisle.

“This kind of garbage comment has no place in our discourse,” Gilbert said on X. “Speaker Don Scott’s personal story of redemption is something to behold and admire. He and I have disagreed on policy and process and will continue to do so, but he has earned respect and he certainly has mine.”

The state GOP’s post targeting Scott first drew notice as the speaker was presiding over Thursday’s floor session in the House, sending his aides scrambling to formulate a response.

After seeing the social media attack shortly after finishing Thursday’s legislative business, Scott said in an interview that some in the Virginia GOP act friendly around him but lack the courage to “come to my face and say stuff like that.”

“If I am what they say I am,” Scott said, “how the hell do they keep losing to me?”

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