Don Scott

Don Scott is the Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates, elected in 2023, making him the first Black Speaker in Virginia history. In June 2026 he became a central figure in the state's data-centre fiscal standoff. Scott cancelled the House's 18 June special budget session, stating that no agreement had been reached with the Virginia Senate over how to restructure taxation of data centres, which host the world's largest concentration of capacity in Northern Virginia. Governor Abigail Spanberger backed his position on the same day, opposing early elimination of the $1.9 billion sales-tax exemption that data-centre operators hold. The Senate Finance Committee had proposed a compromise: a $35 to $45 per-kilowatt fee on backup generators. The House has not accepted it.

Scott's speakership has coincided with intense legislative pressure around data-centre growth in Northern Virginia, including grid capacity, water usage, and now fiscal policy. His stance protecting the exemption aligns him with industry, but his caucus is divided on how long to hold that position as the 30 June fiscal Deadline approaches and the risk of Virginia's first partial government shutdown grows.

Scott's decision to cancel the session effectively transferred pressure back to the Senate ahead of its 22 June reconvening. If no deal emerges before 30 June, Virginia enters the new fiscal year without a budget, a scenario no Speaker since the modern budget process was established has presided over.