Speaker's ouster will set back the conservative agenda

By U.S. Rep. Jason Smith
R-Missouri

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., issued the following statement after a motion to vacate the Office of the Speaker was adopted in the House of Representatives on Oct. 3.

House Democrats, in collusion with eight Republicans, pushed to oust a Republican Speaker of the House who won a conference election to be the Republican nominee for speaker and has overwhelming support among his Republican colleagues and a record of delivering for the American people. 

This decision is particularly abhorrent given the conservative victories that have been achieved this year under Speaker McCarthy – including the largest spending cut in the history of our nation alongside the biggest reforms to America’s welfare system in two decades signed into law.

Make no mistake: this needless and selfish action will stall and setback efforts to hold President Biden accountable for his involvement in his family’s business dealings, to cut spending, or to deliver for working class Americans. 

In fact, these actions actually empower those who want to increase spending and those who want to give a blank check to Ukraine.

It is irrational that any House Republican would vote to push out Speaker McCarthy, who has done more than any Speaker of the House – Republican or Democrat – to give each and every member a voice at the table. 

Speaker McCarthy has led the House in achieving critical victories on behalf of the American people by empowering committees to do the legislative and oversight work that is needed, and by listening to all members about their concerns and priorities.

After serving from 2005-13 in the Missouri General Assembly, Smith was elected to Congress in 2013. In January 2023, he was selected to chair the historic Ways and Means Committee – the oldest committee in Congress.