'''Jason Thomas Smith''' (born June 16, 1980) is a [[Missouri]] businessman, lawyer, and politician who currently represents Missouri's 8th Congressional District in the [[United States House of Representatives]]. A member of the [[Republican]] Party who is generally considered one of its more [[conservative]] congressmen, he has served in the House since his first election in June 2013, following a career in the Missouri state legislature.
A [[conservative populism|conservative populist]] and strong [[Trump]] supporter, Rep. Smith was elected on the second ballot in a tight race for the coveted chairmanship of the House [[Ways and Means Committee]] in [[Congress]], on January 9, 2023.<ref>https://www.politico.com/minutes/congress/01-9-2023/smith-wins-ways-and-means/</ref>
“Smith, who advocates positioning the GOP as the party of the working class, represents a shift in Republican economic strategy away from the pro–[[free trade]], pro-business alignment it’s espoused for decades,” observed reporters Laura Davison and Chris Cioffi for Bloomberg.<ref>https://www.thefiscaltimes.com/newsletter/20230109-House-Republicans-Next-Big-Fight</ref>
==Early Lifelife==Smith was born in [[St. Louis|St. Louis, Missouri]], the son of Bill and Mary Ann (Canady) Smith. His father, who died in 2019, was a former minister and car mechanic; his mother is a former employee of the engine manufacturer Briggs & Stratton, as well as a dog breeder. He has one brother, Bill, Jr.<ref>https://www.thesalemnewsonline.com/obituaries/article_e4f9be2e-cf15-11e9-b83c-575a38f0eb20.html</ref>
Smith was born in [[St. Louis|St. Louis, Missouri]], the son of Bill and Mary Ann (Canady) Smith. His father, who died in 2019, was a former minister and car mechanic; his mother is a former employee of the engine manufacturer Briggs & Stratton, as well as a dog breeder. He has one brother, Bill Jr.<ref>https://www.thesalemnewsonline.com/obituaries/article_e4f9be2e-cf15-11e9-b83c-575a38f0eb20.html</ref> The family moved during Jason Smith's childhood to the Ozark community of [[Salem, Missouri]], where he attended Salem High School and graduated in 1998. He then went to the University of Missouri, obtaining two Bachelor of Science degrees in Agriculture Economics and Business Administration. In 2001 he began studies at the Oklahoma City University School of Law, where he served as class secretary, vice president of the law school's student body, and its representative in the student senate. After earning his law degree in 2004, he returned to Missouri, where he passed the state bar, practiced at a law firm in [[Cuba, Missouri]], and managed the family farm, while also operating a small real estate business that he had begun while at law school.<ref>https://bioguide.congress.gov/search/bio/S001195</ref>
==Missouri House of Representatives==
* In 2020, a bill to enhance the security of federal elections.<ref>https://www.congress.gov/member/jason-smith/S001195?s=1&r=9&q={%22sponsorship%22:%22sponsored%22}&searchResultViewType=expanded</ref>
In November 2023, Representative Smith joined sixty-nine other Republicans to vote to establish a new $300 million building to house the [[FBI]], despite questions about the fairness of the agency toward conservatives.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://thelibertydaily.com/here-is-list-70-rinos-who-just-voted/|title=Here Is a List of 70 RINOs Who Just Voted to Reward the Weaponized FBI With a Lavish New $300 Million Building|publisher=Notable Events=''The Liberty Daily''|author=J. D. Rucker|date=November 9, 2023}}</ref>
===Notable events===
During a March 2017 debate concerning an [[Obamacare]] tax on tanning salons (ostensibly for the purpose of reducing skin cancer), Smith noted that most forms of skin cancer are caused by harmful radiation from the sun, and sarcastically asked why Democrats had not introduced a tax on the sun. [[Leftist]] media outlets then accused Smith of seriously proposing a tax on the sun.<ref>https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/videos/a53736/republican-congressman-tax-the-sun/</ref>
Smith was accused of making racist remarks following a House session in January 2019, in which he shouted "Go back to Puerto Rico!" at several Democratic representatives while [[California]] Democrat Tony Cardenas was presiding over the session. It was suggested that he was making a slur against Cardenas (the son of Mexican immigrants) and other Hispanic members; he explained that he was referring to a trip Cardenas and some others had recently taken to [[Puerto Rico]], and not to anyone's ethnicity.<ref>https://thehill.com/latino/425921-democrat-responds-to-being-told-go-back-to-puerto-rico-on-house-floor</ref>
===[[2020 election fraud]]===:{{main|Biden Putsch}}
Following the fraudulent 2020 presidential election, Smith was one of 126 House Republicans who signed an ''amicus curiae'' in support of the [[Texas v. Pennsylvania]] lawsuit, pointing out the blatant lawbreaking that occurred in several states allegedly won by [[Joe Biden]]. Remaining a public supporter of [[President Trump]] throughout the ordeal, he was also on the House floor during the Capitol protests in January 2021. In a subsequent open letter to his constituents, Smith strongly condemned those who had broken into the Capitol building, while also equating the events with [[Nancy Pelosi]]'s endorsement of the [[2020 Antifa riots]] and defending the [[First Amendment]] rights of the majority who had come to protest peacefully.<ref>https://www.therolladailynews.com/story/opinion/2021/01/10/congressman-smith-capitol-report-what-i-witnessed/43319531/</ref>
===Committee Assignmentsassignments===
Smith currently sits on the House Committee on the Budget, and on the House Committee on Ways and Means. He was previously on the Judiciary and Natural Resources Committees.
===Ukraine warRussia–Ukraine War===:{{main|NATO war in Ukraine}}
In May 2022, Smith voted for passing $40 billion to Ukraine war.<ref>https://www.npr.org/2022/05/10/1097929509/ukraine-aid-congress-democrats-covid-19-response</ref>
==Personal Lifelife==
Smith is at present unmarried. He is a regular attendee of Grace Community Church in Salem, part of the [[Assemblies of God]] denomination. A lifelong member of the [[National Rifle Association]], he enjoys hunting in his free time. Among his personal friends is [[Kristi Noem]], former U.S. Representative from and current governor of [[South Dakota]].<ref>https://thehill.com/people/jason-smith</ref>
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[[Category:Missouri]]
[[Category:State Representatives]]
[[Category:Republicans]]
[[Category:Conservatives]]
[[Category:Anti-establishment]]
[[Category:113th United States Congress]]
[[Category:114th United States Congress]]
[[Category:115th United States Congress]]
[[Category:116th United States Congress]]
[[Category:117th United States Congress]]
[[Category:Republican Establishment]]