Overview

Adam Benjamin Smith has served as the U.S. Representative for Washington's 9th congressional district since 1997; making him one of the longest-serving members of the House. Born in Washington; D.C.; and raised in the Seattle area; Smith earned a law degree from the University of Washington. As Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee from 2019 to 2023; Smith oversaw the annual National Defense Authorization Act and had enormous influence over Pentagon spending; weapons procurement; and military policy. During his chairmanship; the defense budget grew from approximately $738 billion to over $858 billion annually. Smith has been one of the top congressional recipients of defense industry campaign contributions; receiving millions from companies like Lockheed Martin; Boeing; Raytheon; and Northrop Grumman; all of which compete for contracts his committee directly oversees. OpenSecrets data shows the defense sector as consistently his largest donor sector. Critics including progressive Democrats and government accountability organizations have argued that Smith's defense industry fundraising creates inherent conflicts of interest in his oversight role. He voted to authorize the Iraq War in 2002; a vote he later expressed regret over. Smith has supported continued arms sales to Saudi Arabia during the Yemen war and has generally aligned with defense industry priorities on major weapons programs including the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter; the most expensive weapons program in history. He supported maintaining the Guantanamo Bay detention facility when progressive members pushed for its closure.

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