Eric Schmitt | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2023 | |
| United States Senator fromMissouri | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2023 Serving with Josh Hawley | |
| Preceded by | Roy Blunt |
| Vice Chair of theJoint Economic Committee | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2025 | |
| Preceded by | David Schweikert |
| 43rdAttorney General of Missouri | |
| In office January 3, 2019 – January 3, 2023 | |
| Governor | Mike Parson |
| Preceded by | Josh Hawley |
| Succeeded by | Andrew Bailey |
| 46thTreasurer of Missouri | |
| In office January 9, 2017 – January 3, 2019 | |
| Governor | Eric Greitens Mike Parson |
| Preceded by | Clint Zweifel |
| Succeeded by | Scott Fitzpatrick |
| Member of theMissouri Senate from the15th district | |
| In office January 7, 2009 – January 4, 2017 | |
| Preceded by | Michael R. Gibbons |
| Succeeded by | Andrew Koenig |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1975-06-20)June 20, 1975 (age 50) Bridgeton, Missouri, U.S. |
| Party | Republican |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
| Education | Truman State University (BA) Saint Louis University (JD) |
| Website | Senate website Campaign website |
Schmitt questions witnesses on Chinese assets in foreign ports Recorded February 15, 2023 | |
Eric Stephen Schmitt[1] (born June 20, 1975) is an American attorney andRepublican Party politician serving since 2023 as thejunior United States senator fromMissouri. Schmitt served as the 46thstate treasurer of Missouri from 2017 to 2019 and as the 43rdMissouri attorney general from 2019 to 2023.
Schmitt began his political career as analderman forGlendale, Missouri. From 2009 to 2017, he represented the15th district in theMissouri Senate, during which he sponsored major reductions in the stateincome tax andfranchise tax, and expanded benefits and tax exemptions for disabled citizens. As a state senator, Schmitt also led a bipartisan effort in response to theFerguson unrest to successfully eliminate traffic ticket quotas and limit local revenues from non-traffic fines. In 2016, Schmitt waselectedState Treasurer of Missouri.
In 2018, GovernorMike Parson appointed SchmittMissouri Attorney General.[2][3] He waselected to a full four-year term as attorney general in 2020. As attorney general, he filed or joined lawsuits seeking to invalidate theAffordable Care Act,challenge the results of the2020 presidential election (inTexas v. Pennsylvania), and, on 25 occasions, oppose the policies of theJoe Biden administration. He also sued school districts and municipalities for implementingmask requirements during theCOVID-19 pandemic and sued thegovernment of China andChinese Communist Party for theiralleged role in the pandemic.
In 2022, Schmitt waselected to the U.S. Senate, defeatingDemocratic nominee Trudy Busch Valentine. He is the vice chair of theCongressional Joint Economic Committee. As a senator, Schmitt supportsnational conservatism, and was a speaker at the 2025National Conservatism Conference.
Schmitt was born inBridgeton, Missouri,[4] a suburb ofSt. Louis. He graduated fromDeSmet Jesuit High School in 1993 and fromTruman State University in 1997, with a BA inpolitical science. At Truman, Schmitt was a member of theAlpha Kappa Lambda fraternity, played football and baseball, and was a founding member of Truman'sHabitat for Humanity chapter. He received a scholarship to attendSaint Louis University School of Law, where he earned his JD in 2000.[5]
For the fall 2018 semester, Schmitt was an adjunct faculty member atSaint Louis University.[6] He isCatholic.[7]
Schmitt wasadmitted to the Missouri bar in 2000. He was a partner at the firm Lathrop & Gage, LLP inClayton, Missouri.[8] Schmitt served as an alderman forGlendale, Missouri, from 2005 to 2008; he was one of two aldermen for Ward 3.[9][10]
On November 4, 2008, Schmitt was elected to the Missouri Senate. He represented the15th district, which includes parts of central and westernSt. Louis County.[11] Following the2010 census, Schmitt's district was redrawn, but still centered around central St. Louis County. Schmitt ran unopposed in both the primary and general elections in 2012.[12]
In 2016, Schmitt sponsoredS.B. 572, which set a limit on the percent of revenue that Missouri local governments could obtain from non-traffic fines (such as fines for violation of city ordinances). The bill passed the state Senate in a 25–6 vote in January 2016.[13] After theFerguson unrest, Schmitt said that too many municipalities overrelied on fines to raise revenue and fund their budgets. He led the bipartisan legislative effort to bar cities, counties and law-enforcement agencies from setting traffic-ticket quotas. Schmitt worked with SenatorJamilah Nasheed and others on the legislation, which passed the State Senate in February 2016 and was enacted into law.[14][15][16]
In 2010, Schmitt, who has a son withautism, supported a bill in theMissouri General Assembly that required health insurers to pay up to $40,000 annually to beneficiaries forapplied behavioral analysis, a type of autism therapy.[17] In 2015, he worked to enact legislation allowing Missouri residents to establish tax-exempt savings accounts for relatives with disabilities.[18] GovernorJay Nixon signed the bill in 2015.[19]
In the State Senate, Schmitt championed tax-cut legislation.[20][21] He sponsored a majorfranchise tax cut, which passed.[20] In 2013, he introduced legislation that would halve the state'scorporate income tax and reduce taxes onC corporations.[20] Schmitt and supporters promoted the tax as a way to match theKansas experiment, while opponents called the taxes economically unsustainable.[20] The legislation, enacted in 2014, also lowered state income taxes by 0.1% beginning in 2018.[21][22]
In 2016, Schmitt joined 23 other Republican members of the State Senate in voting in favor of SB 656, a bill that removed the requirement for a permit toopen carry and added a "stand your ground" provision.[23][24] After it passed the state legislature, GovernorJay Nixon vetoed the bill, but the veto was overruled.[23]
Schmitt did not run for reelection to theMissouri Senate in 2016 because he was term-limited. Instead, he filed to run fortreasurer of Missouri in the2016 elections.[25] Schmitt ran as a Republican and was unopposed in the Republican primary.[26] He defeated DemocratJudy Baker andLibertarian Sean O'Toole in the general election.[27]
Schmitt launched the MO ABLE program in 2017, which is similar to529 college savings plans.[28][29][30] He created the Show-Me Checkbook website which provides data on state spending, state revenues, payroll, debt obligations, and cash flow.[31][32][33] In 2014, he sponsored legislation that triggered automatic tax cuts when state revenues exceed certain thresholds.[34][35][36]
GovernorMike Parson appointed Schmitt asMissouri Attorney General to succeedJosh Hawley, who waselected to the U.S. Senate in 2018. Schmitt took office in January 2019. In 2020, he was elected to a full term.
Schmitt resigned as attorney general in 2023 after his election to the U.S. Senate in 2022.
Schmitt filed lawsuits to have theAffordable Care Act invalidated by courts.[37][38][39] AfterMissouri voters approved a constitutional amendment to expand Medicaid coverage in the state, he argued that Republican lawmakers and GovernorMike Parson could legally refuse to implement the expansion.[40][41] TheMissouri Supreme Court rejected that position in a 2021 ruling.[41]
During theCOVID-19 pandemic in Missouri, Schmitt filed lawsuits to preventSt. Louis County from implementing public health restrictions (such as restrictions on indoor dining, mask mandates and limits on gatherings) to reduce COVID-19's spread.[42][43] He opposed the release from jail of some inmates charged with violent felonies during the pandemic, a measure that had been proposed to reduce COVID-19 spread in detention facilities.[44][45][46]
Schmitt was involved in efforts to combat scammers and price gougers attempting to profiteer off COVID-19.[47][48][49][50][51] In March 2020, he sued televangelistJim Bakker and Morningside Church Productions, Inc. for falsely claiming that "Silver Solution" (colloidal silver) was an effective COVID-19 treatment.[52][53]
In April 2020, on behalf of the State of Missouri, Schmitt sued the Chinese government,Chinese Communist Party, and other Chinese officials and institutions in theU.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, alleging that their actions to suppress information, arrest whistleblowers, and deny COVID-19's contagious nature led to loss of life and severe economic consequences in Missouri. Missouri is the first state to sue China over the pandemic.[54] Schmitt described the lawsuit as a historic accountability measure, but legal experts called it a public relations stunt.[55][56] The nine defendants were notserved for more than a year after the complaint's filing, and the state spent $12,000 to translate the complaint into Chinese.[56] In July 2022, U.S. District JudgeStephen N. Limbaugh Jr. dismissed the suit for lack ofsubject-matter jurisdiction, noting thatthe defendants enjoyed sovereign immunity.[55][56]
In August 2021, Schmitt sued local school districts in Missouri after they implementedmask mandates.[57] In September 2021, he suedJackson County, Missouri, for enforcing an order that required restaurants to comply with a mask mandate.[58] In November 2021, the Missouri Department of Health concluded a study that found that mask mandates in Missouri reduced COVID-19 infections and deaths.[59]
In 2019, Schmitt launched the SAFE Kit Initiative to reduce the backlog of untestedsexual assault kits in Missouri.[60][61] As of October 2021, approximately two thousand kits had been examined under the initiative and thousands remained to be tested.[62]
In January 2020, Schmitt prosecuted a murder case in theCity of St. Louis. The jury returned a quick verdict, finding Antonio Muldrew guilty of first-degree murder for shooting and killing Ethiopian refugee Abdulrauf Kadir at a convenience store in 2014. This was the first time a Missouri attorney general prosecuted a murder case in the City of St. Louis.[63][64]
On July 21, 2020, Schmitt filedamicus briefs that argued that "Missouri's statutes specifically authorize Missouri citizens to use firearms to deter assailants and protect themselves, their families, and homes from threatening or violent intruders" andrequested dismissal of cases filed by prosecutorKimberly Gardner against Patricia andMark Thomas McCloskey for brandishing firearms at protesters who had trespassed on their property while marching in St. Louis in 2020.[65][66] Schmitt expressed concern about "the chilling effect that this [case] might have with people exercising their Second Amendment rights."[67]
Schmitt opposed motions calling for the release of Lamar Johnson, who was convicted for murder on the basis of a single eyewitness's testimony, after a conviction integrity unit found "overwhelming evidence" of Johnson's innocence in 2019.[68] Prior to hearings on his release, Schmitt unsuccessfully called for sanctions on St. Louis Circuit AttorneyKimberly Gardner.[69] In February 2023, Circuit Judge David Mason found "clear and convincing evidence" that Johnson was not guilty and ordered his release in February 2023 after 28 years in prison.[70]
Schmitt also opposed the releaseKevin Strickland, who served 43 years before his release in November 2021, on procedural grounds afterJean Peters-Baker, the prosecutor responsible for reviewing his case, publicly expressed her belief in his innocence.[71][72] Schmitt's office took the position that the law allowing Peters-Baker to challenge the wrongful conviction required anadversarial process, in which the office of the Attorney General represented the state, as a check on local prosecutorial authority. A judge rejected a motion to retitle the caseState of Missouri v. Jean Peters Baker.[73][74] Despite their procedural argument, assistant attorney general Andrew Clarke said the office believed Strickland to be guilty and that he should remain incarcerated.[75] In August 2021, Schmitt's office issued a subpoena requiring Peters-Baker to turn over any communication with third parties regarding the case, which she characterized as "harassment."[76] After Strickland's release, Peters-Baker said Schmitt's handling of the case amounted to "prosecutorial malpractice" and referred to his procedural position as "profoundly idiotic."[71]
In 2022, Schmitt reiterated his position on the attorney general's role in innocence proceedings and attempted to dismiss hearings on Michael Politte's conviction for the 1998 murder of his mother inWashington County, after a Washington County prosecutor filed a motion for exoneration on the grounds that 2002chromatography analysis from case had been "scientifically proven false" after a review by theMissouri State Highway Patrol. The case continued under his successor, Andrew Bailey,[77]
In a 20-month span, Schmitt filed 25 lawsuits against the Biden administration with mixed results. The number of cases filed against the administration by Missouri during his tenure was second only toLouisiana.[78]
In 2020, Schmitt was among 17 Republican attorneys general who joined Texas attorney generalKen Paxton in suingGeorgia,Michigan,Wisconsin, andPennsylvania to invalidate their electoral votes in the2020 United States presidential election. The suit claimed the four states' presidential vote tallies were unconstitutional; no evidence supported these claims and the arguments hadalready been rejected in other state and federal courts.[90][91] On December 11, 2020, the Supreme Court rejected the suit in anunsigned opinion.[92]
In August 2019, Schmitt withdrew a legal brief that argued that theFirst Amendment allowed government officials to withhold records from afreedom of information request, following criticism from transparency advocates who noted that the brief did not cite any case law.[93] A Freedom Center of Missouri representative raised concern that the argument is similar to a case involving GovernorMike Parson, which Schmitt had not yet ruled on.[94]
Under Schmitt, the attorney general's office sued the city ofMarshfield, Missouri, alleging that it maintained a ticket-quota system, in violation of the state law Schmitt had sponsored as state senator banning such quotas. In 2020, the suit ended in a settlement in which the city agreed to maintain a compliance program and have its state officials undergo training on the law.[95]
In September 2019, a bipartisan group of state attorneys general, including Schmitt, launched an antitrust investigation againstGoogle. The attorneys general accused Google of prioritizing searches for companies that advertise on the search engine platform in violation ofantitrust law.[96][97]
On March 24, 2021, Schmitt announced his candidacy for theUnited States Senate to succeed incumbent RepublicanRoy Blunt.[98][99] His candidacy was backed by Missouri mega-donorRex Sinquefield.[80] In the speech announcing his candidacy, Schmitt tied himself to Donald Trump and railed against "the radical left".[80] He pledged to vote againstMitch McConnell asparty leader in the Senate.[100] Schmitt made his legal challenges to the Biden administration a major theme of his U.S. Senate campaign.[78]
The day before the primary, former presidentDonald Trump released a statement endorsing "ERIC". Schmitt was joined in the Republican primary by two other candidates with that name, formergovernorEric Greitens and lesser-known candidate Eric McElroy. Trump did not indicate which candidate or candidates he was endorsing, and declined to clarify.[101][102]Politico reported it as an endorsement of both Greitens and Schmitt, as Trump had apparently expressed indecision about which of the two to back before a dual endorsement was suggested; he separately contacted both to pledge his support, and each subsequently claimed the endorsement as his.[103]
Schmitt won the Republican primary on August 2, 2022, with 45.6% of the vote.[104] He won the general election with 55.4%, defeating Democratic nominee Trudy Busch Valentine by a margin of 13.2%.
Upon the opening of the118th United States Congress on January 3, 2023, Schmitt was sworn in by Senate president andVice PresidentKamala Harris. He tweeted that he was honored to be the 2,000th senator to hold office in the history of the Senate.[105]
Schmitt was among the 31 Senate Republicans who voted against final passage of theFiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, a bill to raise the debt ceiling.[106]
In February 2025, when NBC'sKristen Welker asked Schmitt the same question posed toTulsi Gabbard during herDNI confirmation hearing—whether he would callEdward Snowden a traitor—he said many asking this oppose Gabbard because she would "reform and curb the excesses and the worst instincts of the intelligence community that at times has gone after presidential candidates".[107]
Later that month, after President Trump called Ukrainian presidentVolodymyr Zelenskyy a "dictator" and said Ukraine was at fault for the Ukraine war, Schmitt said Zelenskyy should not be "openly criticizing" Trump and should "stop lecturing" him.[108][109] Schmitt said that Trump had spoken "a lot on the campaign trail" about "trying to negotiate a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. ... He's a master negotiator, and I think he's going to get to a lasting peace." According to ABC News, Schmitt was the only Republican senator "to seemingly offer both support for Trump and the premise of his statements on Ukraine and Russia".[109]
In April 2025, when asked about Trump's defunding ofTitle X grants to Missouri healthcare providers, Schmitt said he would be "happy to look at it more closely", and questioned the severity of the defunding of federal programs.[110] Also in April, Schmitt filed a bill to makeEaster Monday a federal holiday.[111]
Committee assignments
For the 117th United States Congress, Schmitt was named to two Senate Committees.[112] They are:
On June 24, 2022, minutes after the Supreme Court issued its decision inDobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, which overturned the constitutional abortion protections inRoe v. Wade andPlanned Parenthood v. Casey, Schmitt issued a declaration that his office would enforce a law passed in 2019 that effectively banned abortion in Missouri.[113]
As attorney general, Schmitt supported an effort in the Missouri legislature to increase the number of police officers in St. Louis City by lifting the residency requirement for police officers.[114][115][116]
Eric Schmitt supportsnational conservative positions. Speaking at the 2025 National Conservatism Conference, Schmitt said, "National conservatism is an idea whose time has arrived".[117] In his speech, he criticized the belief that the United States is defined by a shared set of values and principles. Instead, he argued that it is a nation built by settlers as a homeland for themselves and their descendants. Schmitt said, "we Americans are sons and daughters of the Christian Pilgrims that poured out from Europe's shores to baptize a new world in their ancient faith" and "America belongs to us, and only us".[117][118]
In April 2022, Schmitt repeated aGreat Replacement–derived claim onGlenn Beck's program that the Democratic Party seeks to "fundamentally" change the country throughillegal immigration to the United States.[119] In a September 2025 speech, Schmitt criticized both legal and illegal immigration to the United States.[117]
In 2019, Schmitt was among 14 Republican state attorneys general signatories who signed anamicus brief to the Supreme Court brief arguing that theCivil Rights Act of 1964 does not protect LGBTQ+ people fromemployment discrimination.[120] In June 2020, the Supreme Court ruled 6–3 thatemployment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation does violate the Civil Rights Act of 1964.[121]
In 2019, Schmitt spoke in defense of theCameron R-1 School District after it came under criticism from theFreedom From Religion Foundation over ahigh school football coach who led students in prayer before and after games. The group contended that the practice violating theEstablishment Clause of the First Amendment. In a letter, Schmitt called the foundation an "extreme anti-religion organization" and said he would support the coach, school, and school district if the group sued.[122]
In 2022, Schmitt received an "A+" rating and endorsement from theNRA Political Victory Fund.[123][124]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Eric Schmitt | 51,366 | 54.7 | |
| Democratic | James Trout | 42,469 | 45.3 | |
| Total votes | 93,835 | 100.0 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Eric Schmitt | 77,745 | 100 | +45.3 | |
| Total votes | 77,745 | 100.0 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Eric Schmitt | 1,545,582 | 56.4 | |
| Democratic | Judy Baker | 1,078,063 | 39.4 | |
| Libertarian | Sean O'Toole | 78,543 | 2.9 | |
| Green | Carol Hexem | 66,490 | 1.3 | |
| Total votes | 2,738,122 | 100.0 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Eric Schmitt | 1,752,792 | 59.4 | |
| Democratic | Rich Finnernan | 1,117,713 | 37.9 | |
| Libertarian | Kevin Babcock | 81,100 | 2.7 | |
| Total votes | 2,951,605 | 100.0% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Eric Schmitt | 299,282 | 45.6 | |
| Republican | Vicky Hartzler | 144,903 | 22.1 | |
| Republican | Eric Greitens | 124,155 | 18.9 | |
| Republican | Billy Long | 32,603 | 5.0 | |
| Republican | Mark McCloskey | 19,540 | 3.0 | |
| Republican | Dave Schatz | 7,509 | 1.1 | |
| Republican | others | 27,683 | 4.2 | |
| Total votes | 655,675 | 100.0 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Eric Schmitt | 1,146,966 | 55.43 | +6.25 | |
| Democratic | Trudy Busch Valentine | 872,694 | 42.18 | −4.21 | |
| Libertarian | Jonathan Dine | 34,821 | 1.68 | −0.74 | |
| Constitution | Paul Venable | 14,608 | 0.71 | −0.20 | |
| Total votes | 2,069,130 | 100.0 | |||
| Missouri Senate | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theMissouri Senate from the 15th district 2009–2017 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Republican nominee forTreasurer of Missouri 2016 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Republican nominee forAttorney General of Missouri 2020 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Republican nominee forU.S. Senator fromMissouri (Class 3) 2022 | Most recent |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Treasurer of Missouri 2017–2019 | Succeeded by |
| Legal offices | ||
| Preceded by | Attorney General of Missouri 2019–2023 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. Senate | ||
| Preceded by | U.S. Senator (Class 3) from Missouri 2023–present Served alongside:Josh Hawley | Most recent |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded by | Order of precedence of the United States as United States Senator | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | United States senators by seniority 84th | Succeeded by |
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| Class 1 | | |
|---|---|---|
| Class 3 | ||
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