His tenure in Wisconsin ended in controversy after he was accused of hiring a friend as the Department's top lawyer and then pursuing a sexual relationship with her, leading to attempted murder charges against her husband.
Smith also worked as a visiting fellow to The Heritage Foundation; he has been an outspoken opponent of Medicaid, and advocated for states to drop out of the federal program.
After the Bush administration, Smith worked as a visiting fellow at The Heritage Foundation, where he co-authored a report urging states to drop out of Medicaid.
[5] In one of his first acts as governor, Walker signed a law removing civil service requirements from a number of state position, including 14 executive department general counsels.
This change allowed Smith to select childhood friend Mary Spear as chief legal counsel for the Department of Health Services in January 2012.