Smith at a Ways and Means hearing Dec. 20. Photo: Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Rep. Jason Smith has been chosen by the GOP steering committee to serve as the Ways and Means chairman for the 118th Congress, per a source in the room.
Driving the news: Smith defeated Reps. Vern Buchanan, who had once been considered the heir apparent, and Adrian Smith. He will replace retired Rep. Kevin Brady, who was the longtime Republican leader of the committee.
Smith previously told Axios in an interview that if elected to the chairman position, he would focus on access to health care in rural America, telehealth, price transparency, health care security, innovation and “aggressive oversight.”
He also wants to hold hearings on health care costs across the country.
