JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Another lawmaker from southwest Missouri has been tapped to become chairman of the House Budget Committee.
House Speaker nominee Elijah Haahr said Friday that he has chosen Republican Rep. Cody Smith, of Carthage, as the committee’s next leader.
Smith will succeed Republican Rep. Scott Fitzpatrick, whom Gov. Mike Parson is appointing to become state treasurer in January. Like Smith, Fitzpatrick also is from southwest Missouri. So was the previous House Budget Committee chairman, Tom Flanigan.
Smith first won election to the House in 2016. He has served as vice chairman of the budget panel since summer.
The move is the latest in a chain reaction of office shuffling triggered when Attorney General Josh Hawley won election to the U.S. Senate. Parson then picked Treasurer Eric Schmitt to become attorney general.
