Christopher Henry Smith (born March 4, 1953) is an American politician serving his 22nd term as the U.S. representative for New Jersey's 4th congressional district.

[1] He has focused much of his career on promoting human rights abroad, including authoring the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 and several follow-on laws.

[7] In 1978, Smith switched to the Republican Party,[8] and became executive director of the New Jersey Right to Life Committee, a part-time role.

Initially, Smith was thought to have a very slim chance of winning, but Thompson was indicted as part of the FBI's Abscam probe.

[13][14] Subsequently, a federal court found the 1982 redistricting was impermissible gerrymandering, and Smith's district was redrawn to more closely resemble the one used in 1980.

[20] In November 1997, Smith was one of 18 House Republicans to co-sponsor a resolution by Bob Barr that sought to launch an impeachment inquiry against President Bill Clinton.

[25][26][27][28] It was revealed in October 2015 that intern applicants for Smith's office were required to rate "27 different personalities, organizations, and political issues, to indicate whether they tend to agree with them, disagree with them, or have no opinion or knowledge of them".

Personalities and organizations included Rachel Maddow, the Pope, Planned Parenthood, and The National Right to Life Committee.

[33][34][35] Smith did not join the majority of Republican members of Congress who signed an amicus brief in support of Texas v. Pennsylvania, a lawsuit filed at the United States Supreme Court contesting the results of the 2020 presidential election.

[37] On November 5, 2021, Smith was one of 13 House Republicans to break with their party and vote with a majority of Democrats in favor of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

4573; 113th Congress), which would require the notification of foreign governments when an American registered as a sex offender of children travels to their country.

[41][42][43] As of April 2020, FiveThirtyEight reported that Smith voted in line with Trump's position 67.7% of the time, the third-lowest percentage among Republican members of Congress after fellow New Jerseyan Jeff Van Drew and Brian Fitzpatrick.

[52] In December 2023, Smith signed a letter of support to Tommy Tuberville, thanking him for his nine-month hold on more than 400 military promotions over the Pentagon's abortion policy.

The 2011 proposal prohibited federal funds from being used for health benefits that cover abortion, unless in the case of rape, incest or if the woman could die.

[59][60] As of 2020, Smith has a lifetime score of 62% on the National Environmental Scorecard of the League of Conservation Voters,[61] the second-highest of any sitting Republican member (after Brian Fitzpatrick).

[70] Smith called the 2016 Orlando nightclub shooting "tragic beyond words", and said, "The terrorist's motive, if linked to radical Islamist ideology, underscores the escalating national and worldwide threat from global jihad.

[75] Five weeks earlier, he had voted with seven other Republicans to pass a resolution condemning the Trump administration's efforts by Department of Justice to have the courts invalidate Obamacare.

[81][82] Scientists identified this proposal, which Congress did not adopt, as based on a conspiracy theory and claimed that an investigation was unnecessary and a poor use of funds.

[83][84][85] Smith advocates for human rights, serving on numerous committees that seek to impact both national and international laws and legislation.

[86] In 1999, Smith proposed, as part of the American Embassy Security Act, to stop a U.S. sponsored program which provided training to Royal Ulster Constabulary with the FBI, due to claims of human rights violations, i. e., harassment of defense attorneys representing republicans in Northern Ireland.

[91] He supported efforts to deport Jakiw Palij, a denaturalized former American citizen residing in New York who failed to disclose he worked as a guard at a concentration camp in Nazi Germany.

[94] Smith has held congressional hearings and has proposed bills regarding human rights violations, specifically around women's sexual health, activism and religious groups, in China.

In response, Smith wrote a bill, which was put into law in 1999, making it illegal for the U.S. to issue visas to foreign nationals who have been involved in forced abortion or sterilization.

"[98] On July 13, 2020, Smith, along with three other U.S. politicians, was sanctioned by the Chinese government for "interfering in China’s internal affairs" through their condemnation of human rights abuses in Xinjiang.

[104] The proposed legislation was a bill "to promote freedom of expression on the Internet, to protect United States businesses from coercion to participate in repression by authoritarian foreign governments, and for other purposes.

"[105] Specifically, the bill would prohibit American companies from turning over data about customers residing in "internet restrictive countries."

[106] On May 19, 2021, Smith was one of 35 Republicans who joined all Democrats in voting to approve legislation to establish the January 6 commission meant to investigate the U.S. Capitol attack.

[115] In 2005, Smith was removed from his chairmanship and membership on the Veterans Affair Committee for his aggressive role in seeking more funding for veteran-related causes.

Smith opposed the bill as "unfair to the taxpayers of New Jersey" because it dramatically limited the federal reduction of state and local taxes (SALT).

[117] and said he would be "forced to oppose" more tax cuts if legislation included a provision permanently extending the $10,000 cap on the SALT deduction.