Ahead of the current chair’s expected retirement, U.S. Rep. Lloyd Smucker is positioning himself to take the reins of the House Budget Committee following next year’s midterm elections.
The Lancaster County Republican has entered the race to succeed Chairman Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, who announced last month he would not seek reelection for his House seat next year.
Smucker already serves as vice-chair of the influential Budget Committee, which is responsible for drafting the federal government’s spending plan.
In 2022, Smucker ran unsuccessfully against Arrington and Rep. Earl Carter, R-Ga., for the chairman role, but a lot has changed for Smucker since then that could give him a leg up over any other contenders.
Smucker played a key role in crafting the GOP’s reconciliation bill earlier this year, which paved the way for the passage of President Donald Trump’s tax and spending package, known broadly as the “One Big Beautiful Bill.”
Smucker led a cohort of conservatives throughout the budgeting process who demanded from party leadership that any tax cuts included in the legislation be paired with deeper spending reductions. Despite their effort ultimately failing, Smucker said he won guarantees from party leadership that they’d evaluate how to reduce the size of the federal deficit relative to the nation’s economy.
Smucker’s spending stance also won him attention from multiple national media outlets, framing him as a reasonable fiscal hawk willing to stand up to party leaders to cut government spending.
And, perhaps most importantly, Smucker has maintained a close personal relationship with House Speaker Mike Johnson. The Louisiana Republican joined Smucker for a campaign fundraising event in Lancaster County before the 2024 election, where he referred to Smucker as “my brother.”
It’s early in the race, but no other House Republicans have challenged Smucker yet for the Budget gavel.
Arrington has not endorsed a successor, and his office declined to comment for this story, but he has called Smucker a man of “principle and deep conviction.”
“He was an absolute warrior in this process,” Arrington told Politico during the budget fight. “We wouldn’t have gotten the commitments to a fiscally responsible budget reconciliation bill if Lloyd Smucker was not involved and leading.”
‘Foreshadowing of some things to come’
Smucker, who has represented the 11th Congressional District, covering Lancaster County and portions of York County, since 2016, did not respond to a request for comment. Numerous Washington-based news outlets have reported his candidacy for the chairmanship.
Smucker, who also sits on the powerful tax-writing Ways and Means Committee, served as acting Budget chair in a hearing this month, where he spoke about what he said were many of his priorities for the Budget Committee.
He criticized the United States’ debt surpassing $38 trillion and called for an accuracy evaluation of the independent Congressional Budget Office, which caught flak from Republicans this year after it released projections used by Democrats to target Trump’s spending plan. Smucker also highlighted his past efforts to create a bipartisan fiscal commission.
“There’s one fundamental issue that I think continues to hold Congress back,” Smucker said. “And that is, we simply do not have a healthy functioning budget process.”
He criticized Congress’ passing of temporary spending plans, rather than long-term budgets.
“No serious enterprise could operate this way and expect good outcomes,” Smucker said. “But for D.C., fiscal apathy has become routine — and I think the results speak for themselves.”
If Republicans lose their slim majority in the House during next year’s midterm elections, Smucker could still be elected as the GOP’s ranking member on the Budget Committee. But that role lacks much authority over steering the direction of policy.
Historically speaking, the GOP is at a disadvantage in 2026 because the party that controls the White House routinely loses seats in the Senate and House of Representatives during mid-term elections.
In his home district, Smucker is relatively safe. Two Democrats are running for their party’s nomination to oust him from his congressional seat, but they face long odds in the majority GOP-registered 11th District. Smucker defeated his opponent in 2024 by more than 25 percentage points.
As Smucker filled the acting chair role, Rep. Brendan Boyle, D-Pa., minority ranking member of the Budget Committee, did not play coy with the Republican’s potential future.
“I’m happy to speak to the … crowd for the beginning of the Smucker era,” Boyle said, looking at Smucker and cracking a smile. “I appreciate sitting next to you and perhaps foreshadowing of some things to come.”
Legislative moves
U.S. Rep. Lloyd Smucker had some legislative wins Dec. 1, as the House passed three of his proposals to the Senate for consideration.
The Social Security Child Protection Act, passed nearly unanimously, would give children under 14 the opportunity to obtain a new Social Security number in cases where their number was stolen or lost in the mail.
“Because children don’t open bank accounts, they don’t apply for lines of credit, they don’t seek employment, it can take them years to discover that their identity was stolen or to realize the effects of a stolen identity,” Smucker told his colleagues before the floor vote on his bill. “But under current policy — even if the child is aware that the Social Security number was stolen — a child must become victimized by actual fraud before the Social Security Administration will … give them a new number. That’s ridiculous.”
Another bill introduced by Smucker would change the Social Security Administration’s labeling of ages when a senior may claim their retirement benefits. Smucker said he hopes the changes would clarify the timeline of eligibility for seniors.
The proposed changes in titles are as follows:
- “Early Eligibility Age” to “Minimum Benefit Age,” which is 62 years old.
- “Full Retirement Age” to “Standard Benefit Age,” which is either 66 or 67 years old, based on birth year.
- “Delayed Retirement Age” to “Maximum Benefit Age,” which is 70 years old.
The changes were supported by AARP and other organizations that represent retirees and older adults. House members passed Smucker’s bill in a voice vote.
And the House passed legislation he co-sponsored to extend until 2030 a home health care program slated to expire at the end of January. The proposal has the backing of several Democrats and the American Hospital Association.
“For example, one system with a hospital in my community has accepted more than 800 patients across all of their facilities, freeing up more than 1,500 hospital bed days,” Smucker said on the House floor. “This is exactly the kind of program that we should be encouraging, which allows medical providers to innovate and provide better care for their patients.”