Phil Scott
Philip Brian Scott is an American politician and businessman who has served since 2017 as the 82nd governor of Vermont. A member of the Republican Party, he was a representative for the Washington District in the Vermont Senate from 2001 to 2011 and the 81st lieutenant governor of Vermont from 2011 to 2017.
Scott was first elected governor of Vermont in the 2016 general election, and was reelected in 2018, 2020, 2022, and 2024. Scott's 2024 margin of victory is the largest in any Vermont gubernatorial election since 1946. As of 2025, Scott is the second-longest serving incumbent governor in the U.S.
One of the nation's most popular governors, Scott is often described as a moderate Republican or a liberal Republican. According to the Cook Partisan Voting Index, Vermont is the most Democratic-leaning U.S. state, demonstrating Scott's ability to appeal to both sides of the political spectrum.
Early life
Philip B. Scott was born on August 4, 1958, in Barre, Vermont, the son of Marian and Howard Roy Scott. His father was disabled after being wounded while serving in World War II and later worked as a vehicle permit supervisor for the state highway department. In 1973, Scott's mother married Robert F. Dubois.Scott graduated from Barre's Spaulding High School in 1976. Scott is a 1980 graduate of the University of Vermont, where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in industrial education.
Business career
After graduating from high school, Scott began working at DuBois Construction, a Middlesex business founded by the brother of his mother's second husband. After college, Scott owned a motorcycle sales and repair shop in Morrisville, then worked as a construction manager for Morrisville's H. A. Manosh Corporation. Scott has also been involved in other business ventures, including ownership of a restaurant and a nightclub.Scott became a co-owner of DuBois Construction in 1986. He is a past president of the Associated General Contractors of Vermont. On January 6, 2012, a fire at DuBois Construction caused substantial damage, but the owners rebuilt and continued operations.
After being elected governor, Scott sold his share of DuBois Construction to avoid possible conflicts of interest, since DuBois Construction does business with the State of Vermont. He sold his 50% share for $2.5 million plus 3% interest, payable over 15 years. Scott said he opted to finance the sale himself rather than having the company borrow the money to pay him in full to preserve the company's bonding capacity. Critics suggested that Scott's sale of his share in the company over 15 years did not eliminate possible conflicts of interest, but Scott and the attorney who negotiated the sale on his behalf disagreed.
In October 2018, the state ethics commission issued an advisory opinion that Scott did have a conflict of interest because of his continued connection to the company. In September 2019, the commission withdrew the opinion, with its executive director saying that the process for receiving the complaint and investigating and issuing the opinion had been flawed. In February 2022, DuBois executives said they had reached an agreement to sell the company to Barrett Trucking of Burlington. The sale's terms were not disclosed, including whether Scott would receive a lump sum or installment payments, but DuBois representatives said the company's obligation to Scott would be met.
Political career
Vermont Senate
A Republican, Scott was elected to the Vermont Senate in 2000, one of three at-large senators representing the Washington County Senate district. He was reelected four times, and was in office from 2001 to 2011. During his Senate career, he was vice chair of the Transportation Committee and chaired the Institutions Committee. He also was a member of the Natural Resources and Energy Committee. As chair of the Institutions Committee, Scott redesigned the Vermont State House cafeteria to increase efficiency.During his time in the Senate, Scott was on several special committees, including the Judicial Nominating Board, the Legislative Advisory Committee on the State House, the Joint Oversight Corrections Committee, and the Legislative Council Committee.
Lieutenant governor
On November 2, 2010, Scott was elected the 81st lieutenant governor of Vermont, defeating Steven Howard. He took office on January 6, 2011. He was reelected in 2012, defeating Cassandra Gekas, and in 2014, defeating Dean Corren.As lieutenant governor, Scott presided over the Vermont Senate during its sessions. In addition, he was a member of the Committee on Committees, the three-member panel that determines Senate committee assignments and appoints committee chairs and vice chairs. In the event of a tie vote, Scott was tasked with casting a tie-breaking vote. He also was acting governor when the governor was out of state.
As a state senator and lieutenant governor, Scott was active with a number of community service projects. In 2005, he founded the Wheels for Warmth program, which buys used car tires and resells safe ones, with the profits going to heating fuel assistance programs in Vermont.
Job approval as lieutenant governor
In September 2015, Scott maintained high name recognition and favorability among Vermonters. The Castleton University Polling Institute found that more than three-quarters of Vermonters knew who he was, and that of those who were able to identify him, 70% viewed him favorably. Despite his being a Republican, the same poll found that 59% of self-identified Democrats held a favorable view of Scott, while only 15% held an unfavorable view of him.National Lieutenant Governors Association
Scott was an active member of the National Lieutenant Governors Association, and was on the NLGA's executive committee and the NLGA's finance committee. As a member of the NLGA, he joined fellow lieutenant governors across the country in two bipartisan letters opposing proposed cuts to the Army National Guard in 2014 and 2015. Scott was a lead sponsor of an NLGA resolution to develop a long-term vision for surface transportation in the U.S. He also co-sponsored resolutions to recognize the importance of arts and culture in tourism to the U.S. economy, to support Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics education, to support designating a National Arts in Education Week, and to support a comprehensive system to end homelessness among U.S. veterans.Governor of Vermont
2016 gubernatorial campaign
In September 2015, Scott announced his candidacy for Vermont governor.An early 2016 poll commissioned by Vermont Public Radio and conducted by the Castleton University Polling Institute found that of the two candidates for the Republican nomination for governor, Scott was preferred by 42% of respondents compared to4% for Bruce Lisman. A poll commissioned by Energy Independent Vermont in late June 2016 indicated that Scott had the support of 68% of Republicans to Lisman's 23%.
On May 8, 2016, Scott was endorsed by nearly all of Vermont's Republican legislators. He did not support Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential campaign.
On August 9, Scott defeated Lisman in the primary election by 21 percentage points. He defeated Sue Minter, the Democratic nominee, in the November general election by 8.7 percentage points.
Governorship
Fraud case settlement
On April 13, 2017, Scott announced a $150 million settlement with Raymond James Financial, Inc. as part of resolving fraud allegations by contractors and investors related to the Jay Peak and Burke Mountain EB-5 developments.Job approval
According to an October 2017 Morning Consult poll, Scott's approval rating stood at 60%, making him the 7th most popular governor in the country. The poll was conducted between July 1 and September 30, 2017, and had a margin of error of 4%. In April 2018, another Morning Consult poll found that Scott's approval rating had risen to 65%, making him the 4th most popular governor in the country. His favorability ratings fell to 52% by May 2018, and to 47% by July, marking the largest decrease in popularity for any governor in the nation. By April 2019, Scott's approval rating had recovered to 59%, with a 28% disapproval rating, making him the 5th most popular governor in the country, with a net approval of 31%.Political positions
Scott has been called a moderate, as well as a liberal Republican. His views are "fiscally conservative but socially liberal". Scott has said: "I am very much a fiscal conservative. But not unlike most Republicans in the Northeast, I'm probably more on the left of center from a social standpoint... I am a pro-choice Republican". He supported the impeachment inquiry into Donald Trump that began in September 2019, and called for Trump to "resign or be removed from office" after the 2021 storming of the U.S. Capitol building. In the 2020 and 2024 presidential elections, Scott announced he voted for Democratic nominees Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, respectively, calling the latter "a vote against Donald Trump" and a move to "put country over party".Fiscal and budgetary issues
Scott pledged to veto any budget that grows faster than the growth rate of the underlying economy or wages in the previous year, or that increases statewide property taxes. Conflicts over raising property tax rates, which the state legislature supported and Scott opposed, led to a strained relationship between him and the legislature in 2018 for the FY19 budget, despite high revenues overall.Scott made addressing Vermont's long-term unfunded liabilities a priority, and worked with State Treasurer Beth Pearce to pay down Vermont's pension debt.
Taxes and fees
The FY18 budget Scott signed into law did not include any new or increased taxes or fees. He has said that he opposes any new taxes. He also refused to sign a bill that would have raised property taxes. Scott vetoed the FY19 budget twice before allowing it to go into law without his signature, as the threat of a government shutdown approached.In early 2018, Scott called for eliminating the tax on Social Security benefits. House legislators incorporated a modified form of this proposal into the final FY19 budget, eliminating the tax for low- and middle-income retirees. The tax reform Scott planned also lowered state income tax rates by 0.2% for all brackets; tied Vermont's tax system to Adjusted Gross Income ; created Vermont-defined income deductions and personal exemptions similar to the federal tax code; increased the state earned income tax credit by three percentage points; and added a new 5% charitable contribution tax credit. Scott's administration has reduced both Workers' Compensation and Unemployment Insurance tax rates. He has twice proposed to phase out the tax on military retirement income, which the legislature did not advance.