A Missouri congressman who’s been unanimously re-elected as the House GOP Conference Secretary wants to see Republicans retake the U.S. House in 2020.
U.S. Rep. Jason Smith, R-Salem, speaks to a farmer at Peterson Farms in Mountain Grove on July 20, 2018 (file photo courtesy of Congressman Smith’s office)
U.S. Rep. Jason Smith, R-Salem, was also re-elected earlier this month to his third full term in Congress. He represents 30 counties across southeast and south-central Missouri.
“I’m very excited to be trusted by my colleagues to be elected as the Conference Secretary with the expectations to gain back the majority,” Smith says.
Republicans have lost control of the U.S. House, because of the November midterm elections. Democrats will control the chamber 235-200 in January.
House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-California) tweeted Wednesday that House Democrats will work to create a more open, transparent Congress committed to fighting corruption and rebuilding America’s infrastructure. She also says House Democrats will work for lower prescription drug costs.
As for Congressman Smith, he says it’s critical for Republicans to stand with President Donald Trump (R), if they want to retake the House in 2020. He notes Trump carried Smith’s district by 56 points in 2016.
“Everyone in this (House GOP) Conference knows that I’m a defender of the president and I stand by the policies of the president, and I think that we need to continue to do so,” says Smith.
President Trump campaigned for Republican Josh Hawley in Cape Girardeau on the night before this month’s election. Cape Girardeau is in Smith’s district, and Hawley unseated Democratic incumbent Claire McCaskill in the election.
Smith’s sprawling district stretches from Ava all the way to Perryville and Sikeston. The 8th district also includes Rolla, St. James and Eminence.
Smith tells Missourinet he’s worried, now that Democrats will control the House for the first time since 2010.
“Because the other side (Democrats) has been campaigning on reversing a lot of the policies that we’ve been pushing forward, such as the Tax Cut and Jobs Act (of 2017) and reducing various regulations,” Smith says.
He says the federal tax cut has created about 1.5 million new jobs.
Smith’s colleague, U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Kansas City, disagrees. Cleaver has said the bill provides tax cuts to billionaires and millionaires and not enough for working families.
Republicans will control the U.S. Senate 53-47 in January.
Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and U.S. Rep. Jason Smith, R-Salem, which was recorded on November 16, 2018: