Exclusive: Rep. Jason Smith on Biden impeachment, tax reforms, and campus antisemitism

Everything from college campus protests to Hunter Biden’s business records fall under Rep. Jason Smith’s (R., Mo.) purview as chairman of the powerful Ways and Means Committee — a position in which his stated goal is to make sure that no one is above the law, he told the Washington Reporter.

Smith told the Reporter that Americans should not allow tax codes to subsidize “antisemitism and harassment of students on campus because of one’s faith,” referencing the anti-Israel protests sweeping universities. 

“There should be consequences for the actions of these elite institutions that are not following the letter of the law,” he said.

Democrats and Republicans, Smith added, “have found common ground” during his committee’s hearings on campus antisemitism. 

The impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden and the criminal investigation into Biden’s family members have also been recent focuses of Smith’s committee. Although “this administration has been obstructing every aspect of this impeachment inquiry,” he said, the committee has found success: “Hunter Biden would have never received, in my opinion, three felony gun convictions if it weren’t for the two IRS whistleblowers coming forward,” he said.

Smith and Reps. Jim Jordan (R., Ohio) and James Comer (R., Ky.) referred Biden’s son, Hunter, and brother, James, to the Department of Justice for criminal prosecution this year. Hunter is “not above the law,” Smith said, and “needs to be held accountable by the Justice Department for lying to Congress, which is a felony offense.” 

Smith predicted that Republicans will win the House, Senate, and White House in November’s elections. With Donald Trump as president, Smith said he hopes to make permanent Trump-era tax cuts: “We’ll be using a reconciliation bill to pass a tax package that will extend, make permanent, the successful provisions of TCJA,” he said. 

A second Biden term would be “alarming” from a tax perspective, he added, noting that the Biden-proposed “$7 trillion tax increase on all Americans” would “devastate the economy.” 

Below is a transcript of the Washington Reporter’s interview with Rep. Jason Smith, lightly edited for clarity.

Washington Reporter:
The Ways and Means Committee recently hosted a bombshell hearing on anti-Israel college protests. What has surprised you so far in your investigation into campus antisemitism?

Jason Smith:
First of all, these universities are receiving generous tax benefits. And by receiving those generous tax benefits they should be protecting their students from harassment, violence, and intimidation. And unfortunately, these universities have failed to uphold their end of the bargain. Instead of protecting Jewish students, antisemitism actually has been growing on these college campuses since October 7. It was documented that antisemitic activity on college campuses has increased by over 300 percent since 2022, which is quite alarming. And it’s truly the failure of universities to protect the Jewish students. And so our hearing highlighted a Cornell graduate, a Jewish professor at Columbia, and it’s just really, really disturbing what’s going on there.

Washington Reporter:
Is there a school that stands out to you as particularly bad?

Jason Smith:
Well, it’s very unfortunate. There’s so many. You can’t just list one. In my opening statement, I highlighted what was going on at MIT. I highlighted what was going on at Penn, at Cornell, at Columbia. It’s not just one or a handful, it’s a multitude. Let’s think about this Matthew, universities don’t look today like they did 50 years ago. They have $4 to $7 billion budgets. They manage equivalent wealth to a large hedge fund. They sell a lavish college lifestyle with all kinds of luxury dorms and gourmet food, and it’s all subsidized. It’s all subsidized, Matthew, by taxpayers. And these folks also operate multimillion or even billion dollar research labs, and they hire teams of lobbyists to continue to push for more money on the state and federal level. So universities are not the same as they have been. And they enjoy and utilize numerous tax benefits. And that’s what we’re looking at. And we’re doing research, and this is stuff that we’ve been looking at actually since I’ve been chairman. Back last summer I did a Request for Information (RFI) on 501(c)(3) and 501 (c)(4)s and different things. So this is something that has been in our wheelhouse for a long time. We want to make sure people are good stewards. They have an educational purpose, and that’s what they should be following in order to receive these generous tax benefits.

Washington Reporter:
One of the famous points of the 2017 tax bill was that it did not tax college endowments. Is that something that you’re looking at changing in the next go around?

Jason Smith:
So in 2017, for the first time, there was a tax levy on endowments and that was put into the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. It was a 1.4 percent tax, and it was based on a formula of over 500 paid students with more than a $500,000 per student endowment. That was put in place back in 2017. We’re definitely looking at all examples of where the tax code is leading us to make sure that the benefit benefits are being allocated appropriately.

Washington Reporter:
Whether it’s antisemitism or higher education reform, are your Democratic colleagues willing to work with you?

Jason Smith:
We have found common ground. If you recall, the very first hearing we had last November on antisemitism on college campuses, and this second one, were both very bipartisan. If you listen to both Republicans and Democrats at the committee hearing, I think we can truly find some common ground. I would hope that we should not allow our tax code to subsidize antisemitism and harassment of students on campus because of one’s faith. It just doesn’t make sense and there should be consequences for the actions of these elite institutions that are not following the letter of the law.

Washington Reporter:
Are there policies that even exist to be looked at for that? Or are you in uncharted waters?

Jason Smith:
I don’t believe we’re in uncharted waters. I believe that there are tools that can be enhanced and penalties increased using various provisions of the code to stop bad actors.

Washington Reporter:
You’re one of the three Republicans leading the criminal referrals of James and Hunter Biden. Why was it necessary in your mind to join with James Comer and Jim Jordan to issue criminal referrals?

Jason Smith:
Well, I think that it’s extreme to lie to Congress. And that’s in fact what Hunter Biden did and if you recall, a couple of weeks ago, I released information that was provided to the Ways and Means Committee from the two IRS whistleblowers, highlighting multiple different lies that Hunter Biden gave to Congress in his sworn deposition on February 28. And it is a felony to lie to Congress, this administration has been obstructing every aspect of this impeachment inquiry. And then you have the president’s son and the president’s brother lying to Congress under oath. There have been numerous members, Matthew, numerous individuals who have been prosecuted by the Justice Department for lying to Congress. It’s not something to be taken lightly. The president’s son is not above the law, and he should be treated the same as any other American.

Washington Reporter:
Your committee has also joined in leading the impeachment probe into President Joe Biden. What’s the latest?

Jason Smith:
What we’ve just been doing is following the facts on the Ways and Means Committee. To be honest, most of the information that has been made public has come from the Ways and Means Committee from the two IRS whistleblowers. Put it this way: Hunter Biden would have never received, in my opinion, three felony gun convictions if it weren’t for the two IRS whistleblowers coming forward. Those two IRS whistleblowers came forward and highlighted numerous examples of where the Justice Department was delaying their investigation, which was so untypical for a tax evasion investigation, and if you recall, the same week that we released the very first IRS whistleblower information is when that sweetheart plea agreement was announced a day before we released that information. And you know what? We made sure that the court and Delaware have the information and that judge clearly thought that that plea was something like she’s never seen before. It would have created immunity of any future charges of Hunter Biden. Any future charges. She threw that plea agreement out, and the plea agreement was only two misdemeanors, and now he’s been convicted of three felony gun charges. That’s not even counting the tax charges in California. And those tax charges that were filed in California are everything that the IRS whistleblowers recommended to the Justice Department years earlier. And the Justice Department dragged its feet and never did it. And now Hunter Biden needs to be held accountable by the Justice Department for lying to Congress, which is a felony offense.

Washington Reporter:
In 2024, the economy is a top issue. Biden wants the Trump-era tax cuts to expire. What will happen with the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and tax policy in general, between now and the election? How might things change depending on who wins in November

Jason Smith:
It should be alarming to all Americans that President Biden is asking for a $7 trillion tax increase on all Americans. That would devastate the economy. And that’s in fact what Joe Biden’s asking for. The good thing is, I’m very positive that Donald Trump will be President of the United States. The House will be controlled by the Republicans, and the Senate will be controlled by the Republicans. And we’ll be using a reconciliation bill to pass a tax package that will extend, make permanent, the successful provisions of TCJA. That’s why I set up these ten tax teams, so that my team is absolutely ready and prepared to hit the ground running in the first quarter of a truly Republican House, Senate, and White House.

Washington Reporter:
There’s a segment within the GOP that is heavily bankrolled by the left and by labor unions, that is agitating against standard tax cuts and policies like the Trump-era tax cuts. Is that a segment that you see represented in your colleagues or is that more of an online phenomena that doesn’t dictate policy?

Jason Smith:
I guess I’m not aware of what you’re talking about, but what I will say is that the Republican Party is the party of the working class. In my pitch in becoming the Ways and Means Chairman, I said that our tax policies, our trade policies, our health care policies, everything within the jurisdiction of the Ways and Means Committee, needs to be addressing the needs of working families, small businesses, and family farmers and making sure that that is what we do because that’s who we represent. That’s where we come from, and that’s who we need to deliver for. And that is our priority.

Washington Reporter:
What else have you made a priority while chairing the Ways and Means Committee?

Jason Smith:
I think the biggest thing is that if you look at the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act that we passed with 84 percent of the vote out of the House, every item in that tax bill was created from hearings outside of Washington. We started with our first field hearing in Petersburg, West Virginia at a lumberyard. We then went to a farm in Yukon, Oklahoma, heard from farmers and ranchers, oil and gas producers, and then we went to a factory in Peachtree City, Georgia and heard from factory workers, working families, and small business owners. And every provision that was in that successful bipartisan tax package came from those three field hearings. And that’s what we’ve continued to operate this Committee as. We’ve had more field hearings than any other committee in Congress. And we’re hearing directly from the people outside of Washington.

Washington Reporter:
Do you have a least favorite tax? 

Jason Smith:
There are a lot of taxes that I don’t like. But let me just say this: my focus as chairman is providing tax relief for working families. That is my focus, and I’m open to any provision that helps create tax relief for them because they’re struggling. Inflation has gone up 20.1 percent since Joe Biden took the oath of office, and families need relief. That’s why I appreciate President Trump’s leadership on tax policy. 

Washington Reporter:
Chairman Smith, thanks so much for your time.

Jason Smith:
I appreciate it, Matthew. Glad you’re in the fight.