Top House GOP Taxwriter Rakes in Cash After Taking Over Gavel

It’s good to get the gavel of a congressional tax-writing committee.

Rep. Jason Smith (R-Mo.) saw a spike in campaign contributions in the first quarter of 2023 compared to the same period last cycle, after being named chairman of the Ways and Means Committee back in January.

Smith raised roughly $1.01 million in the first quarter of 2023, compared to $76,088 in the first quarter of 2021, according to Federal Election Commission data. Much of the cash was earned from political action committee donations, a potential indication that the business community is seeking to get the attention of the relative newcomer.

Donations from PACs accounted for $618,000 last quarter, compared to $16,000 in the first quarter of the last Congress.

The jump in donations follows a pattern seen in lawmakers who report increased donations after attaining influential congressional posts, said Shanna Ports, senior legal counsel for campaign finance at the Campaign Legal Center.

“When these special interest groups contribute early, I think they’re hoping to get on lawmakers’ radar early enough to be able to influence legislation that’s coming down the pipeline,” she said.

Requests for comment from the Ways and Means Committee and his campaign about the first quarter reports, which were posted over the weekend, went unreturned.

Smith, a Trump ally who lives on his family’s farm 120 miles southwest of St. Louis, represents a rural, conservative district peppered with small businesses. He frames the modern-day Republican Party as one that represents the working class. He was selected to take over as the top Republican on the panel after former ranking member and chairman Kevin Brady (R-Texas) retired. He won last year with about 76% of the vote.

The committee has held hearings in Oklahoma and West Virginia this year to hear testimony on the state of the economy. It will hold its third field hearing on Friday in Peachtree City, Ga.

Smith has said the Ways and Means Committee’s agenda “will focus on people, not politics,” but donations from residents of the Show-Me State to his campaign were dwarfed by the amount provided to his campaign by groups from industries that include insurance, gas and oil, pharmaceuticals, defense, realtors, and banks.

United Parcel Service Inc. PAC, Marathon Petroleum Corporation Employees PAC, Boeing Company PAC, and JPMorgan Chase & Co. Federal PAC are among the committees that have cut checks to Smith so far this year.

Though Smith raised a small sum of PAC money in the first quarter of 2021, he ultimately raised $1.4 million in PAC donations for the two-year cycle.

The slow start could be attributed to a decision by some PACs to suspend their contributions to lawmakers who voted against certifying the 2020 presidential election. Smith, who served as ranking member of the House Budget Committee in the last Congress, objected to certifying the presidential vote on Jan. 6.

While Smith’s PAC fundraising got off to a hot start, it’s possible that more individual donors will come out of the woodwork closer to 2024, Ports said.

Last quarter, Smith took in $222,215 from donors who contributed more than $200 to his campaign. Donors who gave less than $200 contributed $10,029.

In the first quarter of 2021, he raised $49,000 from contributors who gave over $200 and earned $10,367 from smaller donors. But, by the end of the 2021-2022 cycle, Smith had raised $3.19 million—$1.66 million of it from individual donations.

“I think we expect to see an uptick in contributions to leadership and to the majority because these are the people who are controlling the docket and controlling what legislation gets passed so people are seeking influence and access,” she said. “Average voters engage a little closer to the election.”