Jason Smith (American politician)

Elections

Tenure

At age 25 upon taking office in 2005, Smith became the youngest member of the Missouri House of Representatives. During his first year in office, he served as Majority Assistant Deputy Whip^[14] and served on the Agriculture Policy Committee, Appropriations—Education Committee and the Judiciary Committee.^[14]

From 2007-2009, Smith served as the vice chair of the Special Committee on Job Creation and Economic Development.^[15]

In 2011, Smith sponsored legislation to repeal a 2010-approved referendum, the Puppy Mill Cruelty Prevention Act, regarding oversight of dog breeding businesses requiring "daily feeding, annual veterinary care, increased living spaces and greater access to outdoor exercise".^[16] Governor Jay Nixon, a Democrat, signed the repeal into law in 2011.^[17]

In 2013, Smith was elected by his peers to serve as the speaker pro tempore.^[18]

Elections

2013 special election

Smith ran for the vacant 8th congressional district of Missouri seat after U.S. Representative Jo Ann Emerson resigned to accept a CEO position with the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.

Per Missouri statute, Smith was selected by the 8th District Republican Central Committee to be the party's nominee in the June special election. The selection process—which began with 27 candidates and narrowed to 13 on nomination day—lasted six total rounds before Smith was the last one standing as the Republican nominee on February 9, 2013. Some of the other candidates included state representative Todd Richardson of Poplar Bluff, former state treasurer of Missouri and U.S. representative Wendell Bailey, former state senator Jason Crowell of Cape Girardeau, Lieutenant Governor Peter Kinder, former state treasurer of Missouri Sarah Steelman, state representative Clint Tracy of Cape Girardeau, and state senator Wayne Wallingford of Cape Girardeau.

In the June special election, Smith was challenged by Democratic state representative Steve Hodges of East Prairie, businessman Doug Enyart of the Constitution Party, and Libertarian Bill Slantz. He was declared the winner of the special election on June 4.^[19] The election marked the 47th consecutive U.S. House race in Missouri in which Democrats failed to pick up a Republican-held seat dating back to 1994 – the second longest Democratic pick-up drought in the nation.^[20]

2014

After an unopposed primary election on August 5, 2014^[21] and 17 months after the special election, Smith was up for his first reelection on November 4, 2014. He won a five-way race with two-thirds of the vote and carried all 30 counties in the district.

Tenure

In 2015, following the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, which held that same-sex marriage bans violated the constitution, Smith issued a statement decrying the decision. His statement included "As the son of a preacher, I have never wavered in my commitment to the biblical definition of marriage, and in our state, more than a million Missourians voted to define marriage as between one man and one woman."^[22]

On March 8, 2017, Smith, during debate about a tanning salon tax under the Affordable Care Act, wondered aloud, "What I found on Google is roughly 80% of who's taxed is women... Today is International Women's Day. It's interesting no one is bringing that up." He continued, "You look at the number one cause of skin cancer... It's the sun. So I've noticed the people over here haven't found too many taxes they dislike. So why have they not proposed a tax on the sun?"^[23]

Smith is a defender of gun rights; on December 6, 2017, he voted for the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017, a bill that would allow individuals to cross state line while carrying a gun.^[24]

As a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, Smith had a role in writing and passing the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.^[25]

On January 17, 2019, Smith shouted "Go back to Puerto Rico!" at House Democratic members on the House floor while Representative Tony Cardenas was presiding.^[26] He later clarified and apologized to Cardenas and stated his remark was in reference to a recent trip taken to Puerto Rico by several lawmakers, including Cardenas, not to single out anyone's ethnicity.^[27] His apology was accepted.^[28]

Smith was present on the floor of the House chamber during the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol. Smith recalls the events of the attack as rioters began to approach the chamber. As he fled the House chamber, he wore a gas mask and walked passed a woman incapacitated from a gunshot wound. He called the perpetrators' acts as violent, criminal, and unpatriotic.^[29]

Smith opposes COVID-19 vaccine mandates, tweeting in July 2021, "The Biden administration wants to knock down your door KGB-style to force people to get vaccinated. We must oppose forced vaccination!"^[30]

On February 9, 2022, Smith announced he would seek reelection for a sixth term and pursue the chairmanship of the House Ways and Means Committee, forgoing a run for the United States Senate in the 2022 midterm elections.^[31]

Smith proposed legislation to increase penalties for tax returns data leaks, supported by a report on Charles E. Littlejohn authored by his Ways and Means Committee.^[32]

In July 2025, Smith expressed support for Donald Trump's calls for more files to be released in investigations of the Jeffrey Epstein client list, saying "the more transparency we can have the better."^[33]

Committee assignments

Current

• Committee on Ways and Means, 114th Congress - present,^[34] Chairman
  • As Chair of the Committee, Rep. Smith is entitled to sit as an ex officio member in any subcommittee meetings, per the committee's rules.

Former

• Committee on the Budget, 115th Congress - 117th Congress,^[35] Ranking Member, 117th Congress
• Committee on the Judiciary, 113th Congress^[36]
• Committee on Natural Resources, 113th Congress

Caucus memberships

• Congressional Western Caucus^[37]
• Republican Study Committee^[38]
• U.S.-Japan Caucus^[39]
• Congressional Coalition on Adoption^[40]
• Rare Disease Caucus^[41]