Derek Larkin Schmidt[1] (born January 23, 1968)[2] is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representative for Kansas's 2nd congressional district since 2025.

Schmidt was a supporter of the highly popular Kansas version of Jessica's Law, but "almost single-handedly killed the final bill by demanding inclusion of a provision allowing private prisons in Kansas" as the town of Yates Center, in Schmidt's district, sought to bring a private prison to the town.

[12] In April 2020, Democratic governor Laura Kelly instituted orders to restrict the rapid spread of COVID-19 that limited public gatherings to a maximum of ten persons.

[16][17] That case became moot after Governor Kelly issued a new executive order with less restrictive COVID-19 rules effective on May 4, 2020, under an agreement that allowed the churches to hold larger in-person services but required social distancing.

[18] A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that Kansas counties that had passed mask mandates experienced 500 fewer COVID-19 deaths than would have otherwise been expected in the absence of such restrictions.

"[24][25] The U.S. Supreme Court, in National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius (2012), ultimately upheld most of the ACA as constitutional, while striking down a portion of the law which would have required states to implement Medicaid expansion.

[26][27][28] In July 2017, Schmidt joined a group of eight other Republican state attorneys general, led by Ken Paxton of Texas, as well as Idaho Governor Butch Otter, in sending a letter to President Donald Trump saying that they would litigate if Trump did not terminate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy that had been put into place by the Obama administration.

(One of the signatories, Tennessee Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III, subsequently reversed his position and urged passage of the DREAM Act.

)[29][30][31] Schmidt defended Kansas in a lawsuit brought by the ACLU, seeking to invalidate Kansas's ban on same-sex marriage and its prohibition of allowing same-sex couples to change the names on state drivers' licenses to reflect their married names, receive spousal health benefits, or file joint state tax returns.

[32] In 2014, after the chief district judge of Johnson County (the most populous county in the state) ordered the state to issue licenses to same-sex couples, Schmidt filed a petition in the Kansas Supreme Court and obtained a temporary halt to the issuance of licenses to same-sex couples pending a hearing.

"[36] Schmidt strongly opposed the decision, as well as a similar one made by the Fifth Circuit in the Louisiana case of Gee v. Planned Parenthood of Gulf Coast.

One of the firms, Consovoy, McCarthy, Park, a Washington D.C. practice which was also representing President Trump in his efforts to prevent the release of his financial records, received $396,000 from Kansas.

The measure specifically reduced the penalty for persons over 21 charged with a first marijuana possession offense (moving it from a Class A criminal misdemeanor to a civil infraction carrying a $50 fine).

[40] In January 2018, Schmidt issued an opinion stating that all forms of marijuana, including cannabidiol (CBD oil) are unlawful in Kansas.

[47] The challenge, backed by high-profile conspiracist Orly Taitz, was eventually dropped but showed the continuing presence of the "birther" movement.

[58][59] In the suit, Paxton asked the Supreme Court to invalidate the states' sixty-two electoral votes, allowing Trump to be declared the winner of a second presidential term.

The order directed federal agencies to consider, in environmental rulemaking, the social cost (economic damages) caused by emissions of greenhouse gases (carbon, methane, and nitrous oxide); revoked the permit for the Keystone XL Pipeline; and temporarily prohibited drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Schmidt claimed that the order would be "job-killing" and alleged that Biden lacked the constitutional authority to implement new rules about greenhouse gases.

[78] In 2017, Schmidt's colleagues elected him to serve a one-year term beginning in 2018 as president of the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG), an office which rotates on a regional basis.

"[86] In March 2021, Schmidt became the first major Republican candidate to enter the race against incumbent Democrat Laura Kelly for governor of Kansas in the 2022 election cycle.

[75] A Schmidt-aligned political action committee, Our Way of Life PAC, launched the previous week and announced plans to spend money in a push to unite Republicans around Schmidt.

[90][91] Several months before Bob Dole died in December 2021, he issued an endorsement of Schmidt for governor, jointly with his fellow former senator Pat Roberts.

[92] Schmidt did not receive the endorsement of three of his former Republican superiors: former governor Bill Graves, former United States Senator Nancy Kassebaum, and former Kansas Attorney General Carla Stovall.