Republican Congressman Jason Smith, considered a political ally of former President Donald Trump, has been chosen to chair the influential House Fiscal Committee, a committee that also has influence over trade and health policy, according to sources cited by Bloomberg and CNN.
Smith defends that the Republican Party should be the party of the working class and maintains a populist discourse and aligned with Trump, so it does not fit with the party’s official position on economic matters that formally defends free trade and more business positions.
Smith will also be key in the relationship between the new Speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy, and the Republican congressmen most aligned with Trump and located on the extreme right of the U.S. political spectrum.
The Fiscal Commission will be of vital importance in forging the Republican Party’s economic program with a view to the 2024 presidential elections and plays a key role in the negotiations on the spending ceiling, which are already a recurring point of friction between the White House and Congress.
Smith has been a GOP spokesman on the Budget Committee and has played a key role in convincing rebellious Republicans to support McCarthy’s nomination as chairman after 14 failed votes.
The Trump nominee prevailed over his rival, Vern Buchanan, considered a more moderate figure within the Republican Party. The election was decided by a commission of party leaders and congressmen representing different regions of the country.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
