JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – If you had told U.S. Rep. Jason Smith of Missouri’s 8th Congressional District that he would become the youngest member of GOP leadership in the U.S. House right now, he might not have believed you.
In fact, the chances of a Missourian being named to such a post are fairly slim, as only two state lawmakers have held one of those positions in the past 50 years: Roy Blunt and Richard Gephardt.
But the events of 2016 took a sharp turn for the 36-year-old, as he was chosen in a voice vote by his Republican colleagues this past November to serve as the next secretary for the House Republican Conference.
“It was a surreal moment, to think that a country boy from Missouri has the opportunity to be one of eight leaders for the country in the House of Representatives,” Smith said.
Smith will fill one of eight GOP leadership posts, whose focus will be on driving policy decisions.
“I never envisioned running for leadership this early,” he said. “But several colleagues continued to encourage me to run. I said ‘no’ several times, but the one time I said ‘yes’, I took off and ran with it.”
Smith said that, with the results of the November election, the opportunities in the coming years made it the right decision.
“After this election, this is the time we have to lead,” he said. “I wanted to make sure I was part of the people at the table in helping to push the policy for our country. There’s no better place for me to advocate for our way of life and values than at the leadership table.”
In his role as conference secretary, Smith will be meeting with House Speaker Paul Ryan and the rest of the GOP leadership at least once a week. They have already jumped into their work, preparing legislation on the tax codes, as well as repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act and reducing regulatory burdens.
“I’m excited. I can’t sleep at night, because I keep thinking about policy and trying to help turn our country around and move in the right direction,” Smith said.
One thing that Smith says he wants to do is utilize the skills and expertise of lawmakers to help push the right legislation forward.
“Whether they were doctors, farmers, small business owners… knowing and understanding those talents and using them to help improve policy so it best fits Americans’ needs,” Smith said.
Smith says that after eight years of Obama’s presidency, people are looking for change, and are fed up with all of the regulations and policies put in place.
“For the last 42 months, it seemed like my biggest responsibility in Washington D.C. was trying to stop the administration from eroding our freedoms and rights in Missouri and rural America,” Smith said.
The election not only put Republicans in a position of power, the addition of a newly-elected Republican in the White House adds more certainty to the passage of legislation by the GOP.
“President Trump campaigned on numerous things that I believe should be our priority, and I will fight for them at the leadership table,” Smith said. “The people in the leadership room understand that we can do some great things with President Trump.”
Smith was an ardent supporter of the Republican candidate, standing by him even during the hard times of the campaign. He refers to Trump’s election as a “rural revolution.” The reason for this, he says, is that when one looks at a breakdown of voting in the November election, rural areas strongly supported Trump by wide margins.
Smith says that the new leadership is a sign that “business as usual” is due for a change. He says that there’s always going to be battles to fight for those changes, but it’s one that they look forward to.
Benjamin Peters was a reporter for The Missouri Times and Missouri Times Magazine and also produced the #MoLeg Podcast. He joined The Missouri Times in 2016 after working as a sports editor and TV news producer in mid-Missouri. Benjamin is a graduate of Missouri State University in Springfield.
