Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott (R-SC) has had a busy 10 months-plus advancing legislation, approving nominations, conducting oversight, and also chairing the National Republican Senatorial Committee in the lead-up to the 2026 midterm elections.
But Scott, 60, said he is taking the work in stride and successfully balancing his legislative responsibilities and his job of ensuring Republicans keep control of the Senate just over a year from now.
“Exciting, to be honest with you, I’m an entrepreneur, so the one thing I am used to is long hours,” Scott told the Washington Examiner during an exclusive interview.
“These hours are actually easier than when I was in business for myself,” said Scott, who was working in the insurance industry when he embarked on a political career with his 1995 election to the Charleston City Council, followed by two-year stints in the state legislature and the House before joining the Senate in January 2013.
Scott became chairman of the Banking Committee in early January after Republicans successfully retook the Senate in the 2024 elections, replacing ousted Sen. Sherrod Brown, an Ohio Democrat, as its leader. He also ascended to NRSC leadership at the same time, taking over from Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT), and with Republicans holding a 53-47 majority in the chamber.
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This year has been an exceedingly busy one for Republicans, as they work to enact as many changes as possible while holding a trifecta of power in the White House, Senate, and House. While President Donald Trump has been pursuing policy changes through the executive branch in his second term, Scott has been tasked with implementing legislative policy related to financial services.
Scott said he thinks the biggest achievement for Republicans this year was the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Trump’s original chosen name for his signature domestic law, which the White House has recently worked to rebrand as the working families tax cut.
The landmark GOP legislation, which was signed into law by Trump on the Fourth of July, permanently extends expiring tax cuts while making new cuts and funding immigration enforcement, among other things.
The law also aims to rein in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which Republicans argue had overreached under former President Joe Biden. Scott said the CFPB was “supercharged and made nuclear” under Biden, and dialing it back is good for businesses.
“I think it’s just a great achievement for us to have been able to right-size and bring it back down to earth,” Scott said.
Another legislative achievement that Scott cited was the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act. The GENIUS Act establishes a regulatory framework for payment stablecoins and passed the Senate in a bipartisan 68-30 vote. It was signed into law by Trump in July.
Establishing a regulatory framework for stablecoins has long been a priority for crypto advocates on Capitol Hill.
Stablecoins, while a form of cryptocurrency, differ from traditional crypto assets such as bitcoin and ethereum. They now make up a market worth hundreds of billions of dollars and tie their value to an underlying asset, such as gold or fiat currency. The backing of assets is meant to ensure they don’t wildly fluctuate in value.
“You think about the future of America’s economy, there’s no doubt that the GENIUS act will play a significant role in that as well,” Scott said, adding that under his Senate Banking Committee leadership, he wants to ensure that the United States is the crypto capital of the world.
Another legislative victory for Scott was the Renewing Opportunity in the American Dream to Housing Act. The Banking Committee advanced the legislation in its first bipartisan housing markup in more than a decade, and it was passed by the Senate on a bipartisan basis. The legislation looks to address housing affordability and supply.
Scott said, as someone who grew up in poverty in a single-parent household, the matter of housing affordability is very important to him.
“Home ownership is what I consider a linchpin to the American dream,” he said.
Scott also mentioned the Financial Integrity and Regulation Management, or FIRM, Act. That legislation successfully advanced in the Banking Committee and aims to stop “debanking” businesses and individuals.
In his oversight capacity, Scott was on the tour of the Federal Reserve’s headquarters alongside Trump and Fed Chairman Jerome Powell earlier this year amid the controversy over renovation cost overruns.
The Trump administration has pointed to the expensive renovations as examples of Powell’s mismanagement of the Fed. The July visit to the Fed building on Constitution Avenue in Washington, D.C., was billed as giving administration and legislative officials a chance to see the construction firsthand.
Scott described the headline-grabbing tour of the Fed building as “illuminating for the American taxpayers.”
Also on the topic of the Fed, Scott praised its vice chairwoman for supervision, Michelle Bowman, who was confirmed by the Senate in June. He described Bowman, whose confirmation hearing he oversaw as chairman, as “a breath of fresh air.”
He also seemed pleased with the people that Trump is reportedly considering for the next Fed chair and will be overseeing the process.
“Looking at the candidates that will take Jay Powell’s place, I’m encouraged that we have highly competent, qualified folks who are interested in serving Americans,” Scott said.
During his first year as chairman, Scott helped confirm several Trump administration officials, including Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner, Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte, Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Paul Atkins, and more.
But in addition to his legislative duties, Scott has also had to balance his NRSC work. Scott said it’s a “blessing” to be in a position where he has the chance to “actually build the Republican Party of the future.”
Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL), one of Scott’s vice chairs at the NRSC, told the Washington Examiner that the organization’s mission has been made more urgent by “Democrats’ obstruction.”
“Holding the line and growing the team is more important than ever, and no one understands that responsibility better than Tim,” she said in a statement. “I am proud to serve as vice chair under his leadership and look forward to what we will accomplish together alongside President Trump in the coming months.”
Scott said he was pleasantly surprised that, despite his role as NRSC chairman, he has still been able to maintain bipartisan cooperation with Democrats on Capitol Hill.
“Chairing the NRSC is a shirts-skins game without any question, but my ability to maintain healthy relationships on the other side of the aisle hasn’t been compromised because I’m trying to elect more Republicans, and that has been refreshing, frankly,” he said.
“In a world of division and polarization, I have found that my preexisting relationships with folks on the other side actually pay off,” Scott added.
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Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-NE) gushed about both of Scott’s roles in a statement to the Washington Examiner.
“I’ve witnessed his results-driven leadership on the Banking Committee and at the NRSC,” Ricketts said. “Tim brings a clear vision rooted in faith and love of country to everything he does.”
Zach Halaschak is an economics reporter for the Washington Examiner.