Austin congressman critical of "extreme climate agenda" retires
In a farewell speech on the floor of the U.S. House this month, U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith, R-San Antonio, closed by thanking his constituents “for trusting me to represent you all these good years.”
Voters in the liberal Austin precincts of Smith’s 21st Congressional District, drawn like most Austin-area districts to elect a Republican, might beg to differ: Even as Smith regularly rang up double-digit election-night victories, carrying whole counties of the conservative Hill Country, many voters in Austin’s West Campus, Old West Austin, downtown Austin, and a wide swath of South Austin — some of the bluest spots of Texas — found themselves represented by someone who tends to hold views ideologically opposite their own.
Smith, 71, told the American-Statesman he was retiring to spend more time with his grandchildren. His tenure as chair of the U.S. House Committee on Science, Space and Technology was coming to an end, anyway, and with a tough election climate ahead — one that spelled an end to a Republican-led U.S. House — he also thought to himself, “It’s a lot better to be in the majority than in the minority.”
He will be replaced by Chip Roy, a former chief of staff for U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and deputy to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Read more: https://www.statesman.com/news/20181226/austin-congressman-critical-of-extreme-climate-agenda-retires
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