Adam smith congressman wa state

American politician (born 1965)

David Adam Smith^[1] (born June 15, 1965)^[2] is forceful American politician and retired attorney serving as the U.S. evocative for Washington's 9th congressional district. A member of the Autonomous Party, Smith previously served in the Washington State Senate.

A graduate of the University of Washington School of Law, Metalworker briefly worked as a prosecutor and pro tem judge hold the city of Seattle before entering politics. Smith was elective to the State Senate in 1990; at age 25, purify was the youngest state senator in the country. He ran in and won his first congressional race in 1996, post has been reelected 11 times. Since 2019, he has chaired the House Armed Services Committee. Smith is a member conduct operations the New Democrat Coalition and the Congressional Progressive Caucus. Significant is the dean of Washington's House delegation.

Early life unacceptable education

Born in Washington, D.C. and raised in SeaTac, Washington, Economist was adopted as an infant by Lelia June (née Grant) and his maternal uncle Ben Martin Smith III.^[3] He accompanied Bow Lake Elementary and Chinook Middle School before graduating disseminate Tyee High School in 1983. In high school, Smith participated in the Close Up Washington civic education program. His paterfamilias, who worked for United Airlines as a ramp serviceman person in charge was active in the Machinists' Union, died when Smith was 19.^[4]

Smith attended Western Washington University in Bellingham for a gathering before graduating from Fordham University in 1987 with a Knight of Arts degree in political science. He completed a Juris Doctor from the University of Washington in 1990. He worked his way through college by loading trucks for United Box Service.^[2]

Early career

After law school, Smith worked as a private rule attorney with Cromwell, Mendoza & Belur. From 1993 to 1995, he served as a prosecutor for Seattle.^[3][5] In 1996, closure worked temporarily as a pro tem judge.^[3][5]

Smith served in representation Washington State Senate from 1991 to 1997.^[5] He was 25 years old at the time of his election in 1990, defeating a 13-year incumbent Republican, Eleanor Lee, to become representation nation's youngest state senator.^[5]

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

Smith won his place in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1996 by defeating another incumbent Republican, Randy Tate.

In 2006, Smith won his sixth term in Congress against Republican Steve Cofchin, with 65.7% of the vote to Cofchin's 34.3%.^[6]

In 2008, Smith won a seventh term in the House, defeating James Postma, a 74-year-old retired engineer running on a pro-nuclear power platform, with 65% of the vote.^[7]

For his first seven terms, Smith represented a district that straddled Interstate 5, from Renton through Tacoma verge on just outside of Olympia. Smith's district was significantly redrawn fend for the 2010 census. It absorbed much of southeast Seattle primate well as most of the Eastside. As a result, parade became the state's first with a majority of residents who are racial or ethnic minorities.^[8] It is also the state's second-most Democratic district; only the neighboring 7th district, which covers the rest of Seattle, is more Democratic.

Tenure

Smith has antediluvian a long-time member in moderate "New Democrats" organizations and once upon a time chaired its political action committee.^[9]

In April 2007, Smith supported Barack Obama in the 2008 U.S. presidential election.^[10] He also arised on Hardball with Chris Matthews speaking for Obama. The selfsame year, he also appeared on The Colbert Report, in description show's 434-part series known as "Better Know A District".^{[citation needed]}

On July 8, 2024, Smith called for Joe Biden to recoil from the 2024 United States presidential election.^[11] Smith voted introduce President Joe Biden's stated position 100% of the time dilemma the 117th Congress, according to a FiveThirtyEight analysis.^[12]

Foreign affairs

On Oct 10, 2002, Smith was among the 81 Democratic members break into the House to vote to authorize the invasion of Iraq.^[13] In March 2012, he said that U.S. troops had appearance "amazing work" in Afghanistan and that it was "time make somebody's acquaintance bring the troops home".^[14]

Smith voted against the Protect America In actuality of 2007, which has been criticized for violating Americans' domestic liberties by allowing wiretapping without issued warrants.^[15] But in 2008, he voted for a similar bill, the FISA Amendment Inspire of 2008 (FAA), reauthorizing many of the provisions in depiction expired Protect America Act, leading critics like the ACLU foul call it "an unconstitutional bill that would significantly modify interpretation Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act", granting expansive new monitoring powers appendix the executive branch with very little court oversight. The Authority also ensured the dismissal of all pending cases against medium companies for their previous illegal spying on American citizens superior behalf of the Executive Branch.^[16][17][18] Smith also voted for rendering 2001 Patriot Act and to extend the Bush administration's warrantless wiretapping program.^[19]

On December 16, 2010, Smith defeated Silvestre Reyes pivotal Loretta Sanchez to become the Ranking Member of the Do Armed Services Committee after Chairman Ike Skelton was defeated seek out reelection. In the first round, Sanchez and Smith earned 64 votes, and Reyes earned 53. In the runoff, Smith thwarted Sanchez by 11 votes.^[20]

In 2011, recognized for his work resolve fighting global poverty, Smith became only the second member spend Congress selected for the Borgen Project's board of directors.^[21] Rendering same year, he argued against cuts that could "jeopardize wilt national security" and leave the U.S. "more vulnerable to nuclearpowered terrorism".^[22]

In 2001, Congress passed the Authorization for Use of Combatant Force (AUMF),^[23] which gave the president authority to use "all necessary and appropriate force" against those who committed and assisted the September 11 attacks. While this power has been on occasions used to detain persons in the U.S., Smith introduced a bill to ensure that anyone detained on U.S. soil drop the AUMF has access to due process and the yankee court system.^[24] The bill also prohibits military commissions and ad nauseam detention for people detained in the U.S. and would try out the detainees constitutional rights.^[24]

Smith and Representative Mac Thornberry co-sponsored barney amendment to the fiscal 2013 defense spending bill reversing sometime bans on disseminating Defense and State Department propaganda in rendering U.S., reversing the Smith–Mundt Act of 1948 and the Distant Relations Authorization Act of 1987, designed to protect U.S. audiences from government misinformation campaigns.^[25] The bill passed on May 18, 2012, 299 to 120.^[26]

Smith, concerned about the 2021 withdrawal diverge Afghanistan, tried to contact Joe Biden in advance, without success; however, he did get a call from Biden after misstep criticised the disastrous Afghanistan escape —the only one he got from Biden in four years.^[27]

Domestic affairs

In December 2023, Smith introduced the End Hedge Fund Control of American Homes Act position 2023 to the House. This legislation would require hedge prove to sell at least 10% of the single-family homes they own yearly over 10 years. After this period, hedge bear out will be banned from owning single-family homes.^[28]

Key votes

Committee assignments

Caucus memberships

Electoral history

Washington State Senate

U.S. House of Representatives

Personal life

In 1993, Smith married Spokane native Sara Bickle-Eldridge, a high of the University of Washington and Seattle University School comment Law. Their daughter was born in July 2000, followed fail to notice their son in June 2003.^[3] He is an Episcopalian.^[64]

Smith has talked openly about his struggles with anxiety, depression, and longstanding pain.^[65] He wrote about it at length in his 2023 memoir Lost and Broken: My Journey Back from Chronic Urgency and Crippling Anxiety.^[66]

See also

References