Smith gets leadership role in House; Blunt in Senate

Two Missouri lawmakers have been named to key Republican leadership roles in Congress.

U.S. Rep. Jason Smith has been re-elected House Republican Conference secretary and U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt has been chosen as the new chairman of the Senate Republican Policy Committee.

Missouri and Wyoming are the only two states that have lawmakers serving in leadership positions in both the House and Senate, Smith, R-Salem, said Friday.

On the House side, Smith said he is one of seven lawmakers on the GOP leadership team. At age 38, he is the youngest member of the team.

The average age of leadership on the team is 52, he said.

Roy Blunt

Smith has served as Republican Conference secretary for the past two years. But his next two-year stint as secretary, starting in January, will be as a member of the minority party as Democrats took back control of the House in the recent general election.

Smith said he hopes Democrats and Republicans in the House will work together on bills to fund infrastructure improvements nationwide and lower health-care costs.

But he said it is hard to predict whether Democrats will �legislate or investigate.�

Some Democratic lawmakers have said they want to investigate President Donald Trump and his administration.

The 8th District congressman said he is unsure whether House Democrats will seek to govern or �just be out for blood to get the president.�

Smith said his constituents don�t want such investigations.

�The people of Southeast Missouri are sick and tired of those investigations,� he said. �People just want government to work for them.�

Smith said he isn�t sure whether former House speaker Nancy Pelosi will fend off a challenge from some of her fellow Democrats to regain the position. Whatever happens in terms of Democratic leadership, Smith said he expects �a lot of chaos� in the House.

The congressman said he hopes Congress will make the GOP-backed tax cuts permanent before year�s end, while Republicans still control the House.

Smith, who has served in Congress for more than five years, said he will work with his fellow GOP lawmakers to elect more Republicans in 2020 to take back control of the House.

Meanwhile, if House Democrats seek to impeach Trump, Smith said he and other Republican lawmakers will not be �a silent minority.�

Smith said, �They have no cause to impeach the president. He has done nothing wrong.�

mbliss@semissourian.com

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