Eric Schmitt bungles accusation against former special counsel Jack Smith in heated hearing

By Ashley Murray 

Missouri Independent

WASHINGTON — Former special counsel Jack Smith on Tuesday defended before a U.S. Senate panel his past investigations of President Donald Trump’s possession of classified documents and alleged role in attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

Judiciary Committee Republicans repeatedly dissected Smith’s work and accused him of weaponizing the Department of Justice. In a heated exchange, Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., labeled Smith a “total dirtbag” and alleged he had perjured himself when Schmitt asked if Smith was in Atlanta on Feb. 3, 2024, during a separate sensitive election investigation development in Fulton County, Georgia. Smith said he was not there.

But it became clear Schmitt had bungled the accusations against Smith by mixing up the names of the Atlanta Hawks and Iowa Hawkeyes basketball teams, and the back-and-forth went viral on social media. Smith had attended a University of Maryland Terrapins game against the Hawkeyes, not a Hawks game, on the date in question.

 

 

Smith said in his opening statement he “will not be silenced” by threats, including Trump’s calls for his prosecution.

“I stand by my decisions as special counsel, including my decision to bring charges against President Trump,” Smith said. “I made those decisions without regard to President Trump’s political association, activities, beliefs, or candidacy in the 2024 presidential election.”

“Our investigation developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in serious crimes against our nation,” Smith said.

Grassley: not ‘normal prosecution’

The hearing comes nearly two years after committee Chair Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, alleged the former special counsel improperly collected phone records of dozens of members of Congress during his probe of Trump’s role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. The insurrection followed Trump’s alleged conspiracy to create fake electors to swing the 2020 presidential election in his favor.

Smith denies any wrongdoing.

In his opening remarks, Grassley argued Smith’s investigation “ultimately wasn’t just about Trump.”

“It was about partisan agents and prosecutors mapping out the Republican apparatus,” Grassley said.

“This wasn’t a normal prosecution by any means. Yet today, you will certainly hear from Democrats that it was. Importantly, Mr. Smith has claimed his focus was on January 6, but his own conduct contradicts that,” Grassley said moments later, citing subpoenas for records before and after the date of Jan. 6, 2021, and those that included Republican interest groups.

Durbin says ‘nothing untoward’

Democrats dismissed the hearing’s premise and repeatedly evoked memories of evacuating the U.S. Senate while a mob of Trump supporters violently overran law enforcement and attacked the U.S. Capitol.

Ranking member Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said attacks on Smith “are nothing but a smokescreen to distract from the president’s own clear unlawful conduct.”

The U.S. Senate hearing room where former special counsel Jack Smith testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Sept. 29, 2026. (Photo by Ashley Murray/States Newsroom)

“Let me be clear: there was nothing untoward about special counsel Smith and his fellow prosecutors conducting this investigation. The aspersions cast on Mr. Smith nonstop are petty, personal, and political,” Durbin said.

Sen. Cory Booker, who is speculated to be eyeing a presidential run in 2028, said the hearing amounted to “gaslighting the American people.”

The New Jersey Democrat said the scenario “should be chilling to every American that the commander-in-chief … did everything he could to undermine the legal transfer of power, incited a riot, which several Republicans said he did, and we’re now persecuting the prosecutors who followed the evidence.”

Kennedy, Cruz attack Smith

But Senate Republicans maintained accusations that the Biden administration targeted Trump for prosecution just days after he announced he would challenge then-President Joe Biden in the 2024 presidential election.

Sen. John Kennedy, a Louisiana Republican, asked Smith if he told then-Attorney General Merrick Garland that he intended to prosecute the former president.

“I did so twice,” Smith answered.

“And the attorney general checked with President Biden. Is that right?” Kennedy asked.

“I have absolutely no idea,” Smith said, adding that he made an “independent decision” to prosecute.

“I made that decision on my own, consulting with my staff and reviewing the incredibly strong evidence that we had,” he said.

Kennedy also accused Smith of partisanship for only seeking phone records of Republicans during his investigation.

“The toll records that we sought were relevant to the investigation,” Smith told Kennedy, referring to historical logs that reveal time and duration of calls rather than content.

 

 

“Were you in the quad playing frisbee during (constitutional) law at Harvard Law School?” Kennedy asked, accusing Smith of violating the speech and debate clause that protects members of Congress.

“You make me want to throw up in my mouth,” Kennedy said.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who is widely considered a potential 2028 Republican presidential candidate, also attacked non-disclosure orders Smith obtained to keep the phone record subpoenas confidential.

Smith maintains he sought the orders in compliance with the law.

“Let me say congratulations, because you have succeeded where Richard Nixon failed, which is weaponizing the Department of Justice and the federal government to go after your political opponents,” Cruz said.

Details on the ‘dirtbag’ back-and-forth

The viral exchange with Schmitt came about when he falsely accused Smith of being in Atlanta when Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who was prosecuting Trump on a separate election conspiracy case, admitted she had a romantic relationship with a special prosecutor. 

As his proof, Schmitt’s aide briefly displayed a large poster containing alleged texts between staff members about Smith’s attendance at an NBA game between the Atlanta Hawks and Golden State Warriors.

Smith said he could not recall going to an NBA game in Atlanta, or even visiting the city during his time as special prosecutor.

“I don’t think you know that we have this stuff, so I’ll give you a moment to process it so you don’t perjure yourself,” Schmitt said.

“You just took it down really quick, if I could look at that again,” Smith said. 

When Durbin requested Schmitt provide Smith with a copy of the alleged texts, the Missouri Republican moved on to his next question and said “I think you’ve already perjured yourself.”

Wrapping up his questioning, Schmitt said, “You may think you’re a hero in this story, but let me tell you something, you’re a villain. … You will go down as a total dirtbag.”

Booker, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., prodded Schmitt to display the poster board again and provide a copy.

Smith said he recalled being at a University of Maryland women’s basketball game against the University of Iowa to see the popular Iowa player Caitlin Clark.

“Could it be the Iowa Hawkeyes then … Perhaps you should have looked at it more carefully?” Klobuchar said to Schmitt. 

Schmitt criticized Klobuchar for interjecting before being officially called on for questioning.

“I’m gonna begin my questioning now, but I think that people should have their facts straight before they accuse someone of being a dirtbag,” Klobuchar said.

How the Trump cases turned out

Trump fought Smith’s prosecutions and claimed in court he was entitled to presidential immunity for any of his actions surrounding the 2020 election.

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed in early 2024.

Smith dropped the election conspiracy case after Trump won the presidential election in November 2024.

Months prior, a Florida federal judge dismissed Smith’s case alleging Trump hoarded sensitive government documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate after leaving office in 2021. 

Judge Aileen Cannon threw out the case in July 2024 on the grounds that the Biden administration illegally appointed Smith.

Missouri Independent is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Missouri Independent maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jason Hancock for questions: info@missouriindependent.com.

Missouri Southern celebrating grand reopening of Dianne Mayes Student Life Center

(From Missouri Southern State University)

Missouri Southern State University (MSSU) will celebrate the grand reopening of its renovated Dianne Mayes Student Life Center with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at noon on October 7.

On the lower-level of the Dianne Mayes Dining Hall near the university’s residence halls, the newly renovated 13,920-square-foot space offers students more opportunities to relax, study, and socialize.

The updated center features a dedicated electronic gaming area, pool tables, modern study rooms, and a theater. The renovation also includes upgraded lighting, new furniture, and repairs to flooring and ceilings.
Students across campus had an opportunity to give feedback on what they would like to see in the new center.

“The gaming area has expanded a little, but one of the major differences is the glassed-off space for electronic gaming,” said Dr. Lisa Toms, MSSU Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs. 

“Students will have more privacy to take online tests in computer rooms. And there are different types of seating areas with charging stations for socializing and studying.”

The grand reopening will give students, faculty, staff and other members of the campus community an opportunity to tour the renovated space and experience the upgrades firsthand.

Northpark Mall owner sells two properties

(From CBL Properties)

Today CBL Properties (NYSE:CBL) announced that it has closed on two additional land sales at Harford Mall in Bel Air, Maryland, and Friendly Center in Greensboro, North Carolina. The transactions support the development of more than 515 class-A multifamily units and bring CBL’s year-to-date gross proceeds from land sales to mixed-use developers to more than $30 million.

At Harford Mall, CBL sold a 3.9-acre parcel of land in the middle of the campus to Maryland-based Cohere Development for the development of a 249-unit luxury residential complex. The project is expected to break ground in the coming weeks with an estimated opening in fall 2028.

At Friendly Center, CBL sold approximately 7 acres to Hines, a leading global real estate investment manager, for the development of a 270-unit Class A multifamily location adjacent to Whole Foods.

“The sale of these two parcels is consistent with CBL’s ongoing strategy of unlocking value from underappreciated land and asset sales while enhancing the long-term value of our portfolio through complementary mixed-use and multifamily development,” said Stephen D. Lebovitz, chief executive officer of CBL Properties. “With more than $30 million of land sales completed this year, we are demonstrating the embedded value of our real estate and the quality of our locations.”

Earlier this year, CBL sold more than 10 acres of land including the former Macy’s parcel at Harford Mall to SJC Ventures for future mixed-use development. At CoolSprings Galleria in Franklin, Tennessee, CBL sold approximately 6 acres to Greystar for a Class A multifamily project. Construction on that project began in June and it is expected to be completed in 2028.

(CBL Properties owns Northpark Mall in Joplin.)

Kehoe executive order provides cost relief to agriculture industry

(From Gov. Mike Kehoe)

Today, to support Missouri's agriculture industry amidst rising input costs, Governor Mike Kehoe signed Executive Order 26-19, authorizing a temporary suspension of motor vehicle fuel restrictions and a temporary increase in agricultural allowable weight limitations.

With extraordinary conditions this year having greatly increased input costs such as fertilizer and diesel fuel, the harvesting and transportation of agricultural products has become severely cost-inefficient and placed an immense economic burden on Missouri producers and livestock haulers.

The Governor’s executive order declares a State of Emergency, allowing farmers and haulers in commercial vehicles licensed for farm use to use dyed diesel fuel on state highways for agricultural purposes and adjusts commercial vehicle weight limitations to increase capacity for agricultural transportation.

“Missouri farmers are working hard to bring in this year’s harvest while facing higher costs at nearly every turn,” said Governor Kehoe. “Our administration is taking targeted action where we can to help address the unique fuel and transportation needs of harvest season. This executive order gives our producers and agricultural haulers some commonsense flexibility to lower transportation costs and keep Missouri agriculture moving. When we can reduce unnecessary costs for our farmers, that ultimately benefits families across our state.”

Dyed diesel is off-road fuel marked red to be used in agricultural operations and sold without a motor-fuels tax. Because of its tax status, Missouri law bars its use on public roadways. The executive order suspends state restrictions and associated statutory penalties for vehicles traveling on Missouri-operated highways engaged in agricultural operations, and prohibits any state agency, department, or law enforcement officer from assessing taxes, administrative, civil, or criminal penalties against any owner or operator operating within the scope of this exemption.

Many Missouri farm operations maintain on-farm and on-site storage of dyed diesel fuel for nontaxable off-road agricultural use, and allowing that fuel to be temporarily utilized in motor vehicles on public highways engaged exclusively in agricultural operations will increase fuel availability and provide immediate economic relief.

The executive order will be available at this link.

Former Neosho businessman's probation revoked after Texas arrest for child pornography

Former Neosho businessman Blake Altman's is headed back to prison.

Judge Beth Phillips revoked Altman's supervised release and sentenced him to one year in prison followed by 10 years of supervised release during a hearing today in U. S. District Court in Springfield.

Revocation proceedings against Altman began after he was arrested January 13 by the Newton County Sheriff's Office on a Montgomery County, Texas warrant for promotion of child sexual abuse material.

The charges against Altman were almost identical to the possession of child pornography charge that led to a grand jury indictment in U. S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri in 2015.

Altman was sentenced to six years in prison on November 29, 2017, to be followed by 10 years under supervised release.

Altman was released from prison in 2021.

Missouri Supreme Court won't hear Joplin child molester's appeal

The Missouri Supreme Court turned down a Joplin child molester's efforts to get a new trial.

Robert William Shields has already filed two appeals with the Missouri Southern District Court of Appeals. The first one was rejected outright while the second one tossed Jasper County Circuit Court Judge Dean Dankelson's 99-year sentence, instead sentencing him to life.

Shields was also sentenced to 15 years for child molestation, a life sentence for statutory rape and seven years on a second statutory rape charge with the sentences to run consecutively.

The crimes were committed over a 9-year period beginning when the girl was five years old.

City of Joplin submits formal request to change connecting flight hub from Chicago to Houston

(From the City of Joplin)

The City of Joplin and SkyWest Airlines have officially submitted their separate requests to the U.S. Department of Transportation proposing that one of the Joplin Regional Airport’s connecting hubs be changed from Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) to the George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston (IAH). 

The recommendation follows a Joplin City Council presentation Sept. 22, in which Jeremy Hagerman, assistant director of Public Works - Engineering, outlined the changes Joplin travelers will experience for flights to and from Chicago, as well as hub alternatives. 

 
With the support of City Council, the City of Joplin (through its consultant Volaire as well as Skywest), will now consult with the Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration, and await their decision. 

While these conversations don’t guarantee the change to Houston, the formal recommendation moves the Joplin airport one step closer. Starting December 1, flights to Chicago will leave Joplin at 5 a.m., and flights returning from Chicago will depart O’Hare at 7:40 a.m. 

These early-morning flights are a result of current conditions at O’Hare, including construction work that is complicating flight schedules and an order from the FAA requiring that fewer flights travel in and out of Chicago at peak times. 

Flights to and from Denver, Joplin’s other connecting hub, are not affected. 

While the Joplin Regional Airport Board and City Council could opt to stay with Chicago as the eastern flight hub and adapt to the new flight times, the opportunity to request Houston as a new hub was recommended by SkyWest and makes sense due to more flyers traveling for leisure, Hagerman said. 

“After looking at the data, we do believe Houston will be an attractive hub for our flight population,” he told City Council. “The conversations have also included negotiations about better flight times coming in and out of Joplin, which makes it easier for travelers who need that morning connection to Houston before traveling into Joplin.” 

Hagerman said that while Joplin travelers will see those earlier flight times to and from Chicago beginning December 1, the timing for a potential hub change to Houston is estimated to be March 2027.

The proposed departure times (seven days a week) would be 7:40 a.m. from Joplin to Houston, and closer to mid-day from Houston to Joplin. 

With the City’s formal recommendation now in place, the hub decision will be made by the U.S. Department of Transportation. 

The City will share updates regarding flight schedules to and from JLN as we receive word from the relevant authorities.

Missouri Republicans scramble to launch late campaigns on two ballot measures

By Rudi Keller

Missouri Independent

Missouri Republicans are scrambling to organize late campaigns on ballot measures they spent most of the year trying to block from the Nov. 3 election.

The party’s State Committee met Saturday in Columbia and passed resolutions asking for a “yes” vote on Proposition A, a referendum on the 2025 redistricting map, and a “no” vote on Amendment 6, which would restrict the ability of lawmakers to change measures enacted by initiative petition. 

Party leaders told the committee they would work this week to develop campaigns on both measures.

The committee’s session was livestreamed on social media by Act for Missouri, a conservative group that opposes Amendment 6 and backs a vote in favor of the 2025 map.

A new campaign effort on either measure would have to be organized and launched as absentee voters are already casting ballots. The election is five weeks away and no-excuse early voting begins in three weeks.

State Republican Political Director Chandler Haynes speaking the morning after the U.S. Supreme Court ordered that the November elections be held in districts used in the 2022 and 2024 elections, said he would work to generate a campaign.

“I cannot even get close to expressing how I feel about what the Supreme Court did to this state and its voters last night,” Haynes said. “It’s criminal, literally, and we should do everything in our power to make sure that we claw back the map that this state deserves and that these voters deserve.”

In a social media post after the Supreme Court decision, U.S. Rep. Mark Alford of Raymore, running for re-election in the 4th District, said he disagreed with the decision and would push to get the map approved.

“I support the Missouri First map because I firmly believe it better reflects the values of Missouri voters,” Alford said. “That’s why I will continue to advocate for the Missouri First map on the ballot this November.”

The Independent left messages with Miles Ross, state GOP executive director, and Jennifer Bukowsky, the committee vice-chair who presided Saturday, but did not receive a reply.

Republican fears

The meeting Saturday included a candid discussion from Haynes, and sharp questioning from committee members, on the status of this year’s campaign program.

The party’s making its biggest direct effort in the Springfield area and in Jackson County, Haynes said, where state Senate seats are in play and multiple House districts could be won by either party.

“The Communists are on the march, and so we don’t get off-years, we don’t get breaks, we don’t get to part-time any of this because none of them do,” Haynes said.

The party is also stepping up voter registration efforts, he said.

“If we’re worried about voter enthusiasm and voter turnout, why not just go make new Republicans and then get them turned out also?” he said. “But we’re definitely not going to neglect the voters we’ve already got registered to vote.”

Voter turnout is the biggest unknown for the November election. There is only one statewide race, for state auditor, and neither incumbent Republican Scott Fitzpatrick, nor the Democratic nominee, Quentin Wilson, have raised large sums this year. 

The heavy spending will be in ballot measures, where almost $5 million has been spent so far on broadcast ads, tracking by The Independent shows. There has also been $1.8 million spent on broadcast ads in the two most competitive state Senate races. 

The last time the auditor’s race was the only contest on the ballot, there was no major ballot measure to attract voters and only 1.4 million people went to the polls. That is about the same as the number who in August delivered historic defeats on Republican priority ballot measures on income taxes and limiting the initiative process.

The August electorate was far more Democratic and independent than a typical primary election. A big GOP fear is that the trend will continue into November.

State Sen. Jason Bean of Holcomb said Saturday that he would form a committee to oppose Amendment 6. 

“I will be reaching out to business leaders, community leaders, party leaders, to try to get a coordinated effort and raise money to beat this horrible, horrible amendment,” Bean said.

Republican legislative candidates are part of the target for Amendment 6 backers, Bean said. Republicans won 111 of 163 seats in the Missouri House in 2024 and hold 24 of 34 state Senate seats. Democrats hope to gain enough seats to break those two-thirds supermajorities.

“They use ballot measures just like this to drive turnout and elect legislative, local and statewide races,” Bean said. “That’s what they’re doing. One of their key goals, and Amendment 6 is part of it, is to take the supermajority.”

Starting behind

Proposition A and Amendment 6 were late additions to the ballot, but the possibility that one or both would go before voters has been apparent for months.

People Not Politicians began the referendum petition campaign that led to Proposition A in September 2025, while the political action committee Respect MO Voters turned in signatures for its petition that became Amendment 6 in May. Secretary of State Denny Hoskins tried to block both measures from the ballot but his decision was overturned by the courts.

Proposition A was assured its spot on the ballot when the U.S. Supreme Court, on Sept. 8, refused to review a Missouri Supreme decision. In that decision, Republicans lost both the battle to stop the referendum and to use in November a gerrymandered Missouri congressional map designed to elect seven Republicans to the U.S. House.

People Not Politicians’ effort has pivoted from making sure it is on the ballot to explaining that people who oppose the gerrymandered map must vote “no.” The committee has purchased almost $800,000 in television ads through Election Day in the Springfield, Kansas City and St. Louis markets, tracking by The Independent shows.

Put Missouri First, the political action committee formed to oppose the referendum, has bought no air time and reported less than $20,000 in donations since June 30. The committee spent $2.9 million so far, most of it last fall to disrupt the petition drive and this spring to fight the referendum in court.

“The fact that they’ve spent so much to avoid getting to this place signals how they feel voters will feel about their proposal here,” said Richard von Glahn, director of People Not Politicians.

The uncertainty about the next step now that Republicans have lost the major court battles shows their confusion after the defeat, von Glahn said.

“That suggests to me that this is not where the proponents of the gerrymander want to be,” he said.

The campaign to defeat Amendment 6 is even further behind, with no structure in place at all.

Amendment 6 would protect past and future initiative proposals from legislative changes without a new statewide vote. To alter a measure approved by initiative, 80% of lawmakers in both chambers would have to agree to submit it to the ballot.

Haynes said he would meet this week with House Majority Leader Alex Riley of Springfield, who is slated to become House Speaker, about raising money. He also named the chiefs of staff for state Sens. Mike Moon and Rick Brattin as part of the team that will lead the opposition to Amendment 6.

Asked when materials would be ready for door-to-door campaigning, Haynes said it was yet to be determined.

“These things take money. We got to get things designed,” he said. “We can’t just, you know, like manna from heaven, say ‘please, you know we need palm cards.’ I wish we could. That’d be amazing. But we’ve got to actually allocate funds and raise funds.”

Meanwhile, Yes on Amendment 6, the political action committee formed for the fall campaign, has raised $2.7 million, most of it from labor unions, and spent $929,265 on broadcast ads that began Sept. 22. 

If no substantial effort opposing Amendment 6 develops, it would be the second consecutive election where a measure addressing initiatives becomes a one-sided campaign. 

In August, Amendment 4 would have changed the majority requirements for constitutional amendments proposed by initiative. Three committees worked against it and It suffered one of the worst defeats for any measure sent to voters by the Legislature as more than 80% of voters opposed it.

The campaign to defeat Amendment 4 has left voters receptive to the message of Amendment 6, said Jack Cardetti, spokesman for Yes on Amendment 6.

“Amendment 4 was a direct attack by Missouri politicians to make it more difficult to pass voter-led initiatives, and Missourians saw that for what it was,” he said. “It’s a power grab.”

Organizers of the Yes on Amendment 6 committee do not expect to have an open field through Election Day, Cardetti said.

“We fully expect a last-ditch effort by politicians to hold on to power at the expense of Missouri voters and working families,” Cardetti said. “We absolutely, over these final five weeks, believe that these politicians will make a last-ditch effort.”

Missouri Independent is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Missouri Independent maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jason Hancock for questions: info@missouriindependent.com.

A spooky ride down Route 66

(From the State Historical Society of Missouri)

Do you love a good ghost story? Join SHSMO archivist Hali Allen as we take a spooky ride along Missouri’s Haunted Route 66, exploring haunted mansions, castles, roads, theatres, and other paranormal activities. 

For more than a century, the area surrounding the Mother Road has produced tales of ghosts, zombies, spook lights and other unexplained phenomenon. Allen will share stories about the spirits at St. Louis's Lemp Mansion, the infamous Zombie Road, the Goat Man in Rolla, and the Ozark Spook Light outside of Joplin. Register and attend this webinar…if you dare.

Join Kathleen Seale and the staff of the State Historical Society of Missouri on the second Thursday of the month at 11a.m. for Asphalt to Archives webinars about the people and places in Missouri that helped make Route 66 into a national icon. This webinar series is a Route 66 Centennial Certified Project through the National Route 66 Centennial Commission.

To receive a zoom link, please register separately for each monthly program in the Asphalt to Archives series, April through November 2026. This program, sponsored by the State Historical Society of Missouri, is available online and free. Register today at this link.

Jason Smith: President Trump is holding China accountable

(From Eighth District Congressman Jason Smith)

On Thursday, President Trump brought Chinese President Xi Jinping to the White House — part of his decade-long effort going back to his first administration to hold China accountable for undercutting American workers and farmers with little consequence. President Trump understands that China is a strategic adversary, not simply a trading partner, and because of that, America came to the table last night in a position of strength.

I share the President’s anger at how American farmers and workers have been taken advantage of. The farmers in southeast Missouri have seen what happens when China floods our market with their products but won’t let American agriculture flow into their country. Under the agreement reached in President Trump’s first term, China agreed to purchase American agricultural products, but in the end bought only 77 percent of the American farm products it promised. As Ways and Means Chairman, which oversees our international trade, I’ve held China accountable by shining a bright spotlight on their failure to live up to their agreements.

So I was pleased earlier this year when President Trump secured China’s commitment to buy at least 25 million metric tons of American soybeans every year through 2028. That matters for Missouri farmers, as soybeans are our biggest agricultural product by both acreage and value, and I’ll keep pressing until China delivers. I’m also glad to see that additional trade commitments have been reached during President Xi’s visit that will further benefit farmers.

Agriculture isn’t the only sector of our economy that has been taken advantage by China. Our manufacturers have also seen unfair gaming of import restrictions. That’s why I led the effort as part of the One, Big, Beautiful Bill to close a trade loophole that allowed low-value packages to flow into our country duty-free. Beijing abused that loophole for years, with Chinese packages accounting for more than 60 percent of the shipments under this loophole, and closing it gave American manufacturers and workers a fair shot again.

But it isn’t just the economic harm that China has caused that I’m fighting back against. Standing up to China also means making sure we aggressively root out loopholes in our laws that the Chinese Communist Party has utilized to slip into our communities, sometimes without anyone being aware what was happening. As chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, I’ve spent more than a year investigating and exposing how Chinese-connected non-profits have weaponized our tax code to fund coordinated “protests” and parroted pro-China propaganda encouraging violence.

This week’s visit doesn’t change who China is. What has changed is that America now has leaders willing to confront Beijing and make it keep its word. I’ll never stop fighting to protect Missouri’s farmers, manufacturers, and communities, and make sure the Chinese Communist Party never again gets a free pass at America’s expense.