Eric Schmitt
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Eric Stephen Schmitt (born June 20, 1975) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior
United States senator The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress. Party affiliation Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...
from
Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...
since 2023. A member of the Republican Party, Schmitt served from 2017 to 2019 as the 46th State Treasurer of Missouri and from 2019 to 2023 as the 43rd
Missouri Attorney General The Office of the Missouri Attorney General was created in 1806 when Missouri was part of the Louisiana Territory. Missouri's first Constitution in 1820 provided for an appointed attorney general, but since the 1865 Constitution, the Attorney Ge ...
. From 2005 to 2008, Schmitt was an
alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...
for Glendale, Missouri. He served as member of the Missouri Senate from 2009 to 2017, representing the 15th district. In 2016, Schmitt was elected Missouri state treasurer. On November 13, 2018, Governor
Mike Parson Michael Lynn Parson (born September 17, 1955) is an American politician and former law enforcement officer who served as the 57th List of governors of Missouri, governor of Missouri, from 2018 to 2025. A member of the Republican Party (United S ...
named Schmitt attorney general of Missouri after the incumbent,
Josh Hawley Joshua David Hawley (born December 31, 1979) is an American politician and attorney serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from Missouri, a seat he has held since 2019. A member ...
, was elected to the United States Senate. On November 3, 2020, Schmitt was elected to a full four-year term as attorney general. As AG, he filed lawsuits to have the
Affordable Care Act The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and informally as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by Presid ...
invalidated by courts and sued school districts and municipalities for implementing mask requirements during the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. After
Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...
won the 2020 election and
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
refused to concede, Schmitt joined other Republicans in falsely claiming fraud. He supported failed lawsuits seeking to invalidate the 2020 election results. He sued the
Biden administration Joe Biden's tenure as the List of presidents of the United States, 46th president of the United States began with Inauguration of Joe Biden, his inauguration on January 20, 2021, and ended on January 20, 2025. Biden, a member of the Democr ...
25 times, with mixed outcomes. He challenged the administration's policies, and signed onto an ''amicus'' brief that argued that LGBT people are not protected by workplace discrimination bans. In March 2021, he announced his candidacy for U.S. Senate. In
2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...
, Schmitt was elected to the U.S. Senate, defeating Democratic nominee Trudy Busch Valentine.


Early life and education

Schmitt was born in
Bridgeton, Missouri Bridgeton is a second-ring suburb of Greater St. Louis in northwestern St. Louis County, Missouri, United States. Bridgeton is located at the intersection of the St. Louis outer belt and I-70. Bridgeton serves as the primary transport hub wi ...
, a suburb of St. Louis. He graduated from DeSmet Jesuit High School in 1993 and from
Truman State University Truman State University (TSU or Truman) is a Public university, public Liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Kirksville, Missouri, United States. It had 3,664 enrolled students in the fall of 2024 pursuing degrees in 55 undergraduate ...
in 1997, with a Bachelor of Arts ''
cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...
'' in
political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...
. At Truman, Schmitt was a member of the
Alpha Kappa Lambda Alpha Kappa Lambda (), commonly known as AKL or Alpha Kapp, is an American collegiate social Fraternities and sororities in North America, fraternity founded at the University of California, Berkeley, in 1914. Today, it operates 25 active chapters ...
fraternity, played football and baseball, and was a founding member of Truman's
Habitat for Humanity Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI), generally referred to as Habitat for Humanity or Habitat, is a U.S. non-governmental, and tax-exempt 501(C)(3) Christian nonprofit organization which seeks to build affordable housing. The international ...
chapter. He received a scholarship to attend Saint Louis University School of Law, where he earned his
Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...
in 2000. For the fall 2018 semester, Schmitt was an adjunct faculty member at
Saint Louis University Saint Louis University (SLU) is a private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1818 by Louis William Valentine DuBourg, it is the oldest university west of the Missi ...
. He and his family are Roman Catholic.


Early law and political career


Lawyer and Glendale alderman

Schmitt was admitted to the Missouri bar in 2000. He was a partner at the firm Lathrop & Gage, LLP in Clayton, Missouri. Schmitt served as an alderman for Glendale, Missouri, from 2005 to 2008; he was one of two aldermen for Ward 3.


Missouri Senate (2009–2017)

On November 4, 2008, Schmitt was elected to the Missouri Senate. He represented the 15th district, which includes parts of central and western St. Louis County. Following the 2010 census, Schmitt's district was redrawn, but still centered around central St. Louis County. Schmitt ran unopposed in both the primary and general elections in 2012. In 2016, Schmitt sponsored S.B. 572, which set a limit on the percent of revenue that Missouri local governments could obtain from non-traffic fines (such as fines for violation of city ordinances). The bill passed the state Senate in a 25–6 vote in January 2016. After the
Ferguson unrest The Ferguson unrest (sometimes called the Ferguson uprising, Ferguson protests, or the Ferguson riots) was a series of protests and riots which began in Ferguson, Missouri on August 10, 2014, the day after the fatal Killing of Michael Brown, ...
, Schmitt said that too many municipalities overrelied on fines to raise revenue and fund their budgets. He led the bipartisan legislative effort to bar cities, counties and law-enforcement agencies from setting traffic-ticket quotas. Schmitt worked with Senator Jamilah Nasheed and others on the legislation, which passed the State Senate in February 2016 and was enacted into law. In 2010, Schmitt, who has a son with
autism Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing d ...
, supported a bill in the
Missouri General Assembly The Missouri General Assembly is the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Missouri. The bicameral General Assembly is composed of a 34-member Missouri Senate, Senate and a 163-member Missouri House of Represen ...
that required health insurers to pay up to $40,000 annually to beneficiaries for applied behavioral analysis, a type of autism therapy. In 2015, he worked to enact legislation allowing Missouri residents to establish tax-exempt savings accounts for relatives with disabilities. Governor
Jay Nixon Jeremiah Wilson "Jay" Nixon (born February 13, 1956) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the List of governors of Missouri, 55th governor of Missouri from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic P ...
signed the bill in 2015. In the State Senate, Schmitt championed tax-cut legislation. He sponsored a major franchise tax cut, which passed. In 2013, he introduced legislation that would halve the state's
corporate income tax A corporate tax, also called corporation tax or company tax or corporate income tax, is a type of direct tax levied on the income or capital of corporations and other similar legal entities. The tax is usually imposed at the national level, but i ...
and reduce taxes on
C corporation A C corporation, under Income tax in the United States, United States federal income tax law, is any corporation that is taxed separately from its owners. A C corporation is distinguished from an S corporation, which generally is not taxed separ ...
s. Schmitt and supporters promoted the tax as a way to match the Kansas experiment, while opponents called the taxes economically unsustainable. The legislation, enacted in 2014, also lowered state income taxes by 0.1% beginning in 2018.


Missouri State Treasurer (2017–2019)

Schmitt did not run for reelection to the
Missouri Senate The Missouri Senate is the upper chamber of the Missouri General Assembly. It has 34 members, representing districts with an average population of 181,000. Its members serve four-year terms, with half the seats being up for election every two yea ...
in 2016 because he was term-limited. Instead, he filed to run for Treasurer of Missouri in the
2016 elections Africa Benin Republic *2016 Beninese presidential election 6 March 2016 Cape Verde * 2016 Cape Verdean presidential election 2 October 2016 Chad * 2016 Chadian presidential election 10 April 2016 Djibouti * 2016 Djiboutian presidential ...
. Schmitt ran as a Republican and was unopposed in the Republican primary. He defeated Democrat Judy Baker and
Libertarian Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according ...
Sean O'Toole in the general election. Schmitt launched the MO ABLE program in 2017, which is similar to 529 college savings plans. He created the Show-Me Checkbook website which provides data on state spending, state revenues, payroll, debt obligations, and cash flow. In 2014, he sponsored legislation that made tax cuts when state revenues exceed financial triggers.


Missouri Attorney General (2019–2023)

Governor
Mike Parson Michael Lynn Parson (born September 17, 1955) is an American politician and former law enforcement officer who served as the 57th List of governors of Missouri, governor of Missouri, from 2018 to 2025. A member of the Republican Party (United S ...
appointed Schmitt to the office of Attorney General of Missouri to succeed
Josh Hawley Joshua David Hawley (born December 31, 1979) is an American politician and attorney serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from Missouri, a seat he has held since 2019. A member ...
, who was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2018. Schmitt took office in January 2019. In 2020, he was elected to a full term. In a 20-month span, Schmitt filed 25 lawsuits against the Biden administration, losing about half of them.David A. Lieb
Biden suits get mixed results for Missouri Senate candidate
Associated Press (October 26, 2022).
The number of court cases he filed against the administration was second only to
Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...
. Schmitt made his legal challenges to the administration a major theme of his U.S. Senate campaign.


Political positions


Health care

Schmitt filed lawsuits to have the
Affordable Care Act The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and informally as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by Presid ...
invalidated by courts. After Missouri voters approved a constitutional amendment to expand Medicaid coverage in the state, he argued that Republican lawmakers and Governor
Mike Parson Michael Lynn Parson (born September 17, 1955) is an American politician and former law enforcement officer who served as the 57th List of governors of Missouri, governor of Missouri, from 2018 to 2025. A member of the Republican Party (United S ...
could legally refuse to implement the expansion.Jim Salter & Summer Ballentine
Missouri Supreme Court reverses Medicaid expansion decision
Associated Press (July 21, 2021).
The Missouri Supreme Court rejected that position in a 2021 ruling.


COVID-19 pandemic

During the COVID-19 pandemic in Missouri, Schmitt filed lawsuits to prevent St. Louis County from implementing public health restrictions (such as restrictions on indoor dining, mask mandates and limits on gatherings) to reduce COVID-19's spread. He opposed the release of some inmates with violent felonies from jail during the pandemic, a measure that had been proposed to reduce COVID-19 spread in detention facilities. Schmitt was involved in efforts to combat scammers and price gougers attempting to profiteer off COVID-19. In March 2020, he sued televangelist Jim Bakker and Morningside Church Productions, Inc. for falsely claiming that "Silver Solution" ( colloidal silver) was an effective COVID-19 treatment. In April 2020, on behalf of the State of Missouri, Schmitt sued the Chinese government,
Chinese Communist Party The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...
, and other Chinese officials and institutions in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, alleging that their actions to suppress information, arrest whistleblowers, and deny COVID-19's contagious nature led to loss of life and severe economic consequences in Missouri. Missouri is the first state to sue China over the pandemic. Schmitt described the lawsuit as a historic accountability measure, but legal experts called it a public relations stunt.Judge throws out Missouri AG's COVID-19 suit against China
Associated Press (July 9, 2022).
Rudi Keller
Federal judge dismisses Missouri AG Eric Schmitt lawsuit blaming China for COVID-19
''Missouri Independent'' (July 8, 2022).
The nine defendants were not served for more than a year after the complaint's filing, and the state spent $12,000 to translate the complaint into Chinese. In July 2022, U.S. District Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh Jr. dismissed the suit for lack of
subject-matter jurisdiction Subject-matter jurisdiction, also called jurisdiction ''ratione materiae'', is a legal doctrine regarding the ability of a court to lawfully hear and adjudicate a case. Subject-matter relates to the nature of a case; whether it is criminal, ci ...
, noting that the defendants enjoyed sovereign immunity. In August 2021, Schmitt sued local school districts in Missouri after they implemented mask mandates. In September 2021, he sued
Jackson County, Missouri Jackson County is located in the western portion of the U.S. state of Missouri, on the border with Kansas. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 717,204. making it the second-most populous county in the state (af ...
, for enforcing an order that required restaurants to comply with a mask mandate. In November 2021, the Missouri Department of Health concluded a study that found that mask mandates in Missouri reduced COVID-19 infections and deaths. In 2021, Schmitt led a lawsuit against the Biden administration over its
COVID-19 vaccine A COVID19 vaccine is a vaccine intended to provide acquired immunity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 ( COVID19). Knowledge about the structure and fun ...
requirements for health care workers.


Environment

In 2021, Schmitt sued the Biden administration, challenging its decision to suspend new oil and gas leases on federal land and water. He and 13 other Republican state attorneys general also participated in a lawsuit seeking to block a Biden executive order directing federal agencies to consider the social costs of emissions of greenhouse gases (carbon,
methane Methane ( , ) is a chemical compound with the chemical formula (one carbon atom bonded to four hydrogen atoms). It is a group-14 hydride, the simplest alkane, and the main constituent of natural gas. The abundance of methane on Earth makes ...
and
nitrous oxide Nitrous oxide (dinitrogen oxide or dinitrogen monoxide), commonly known as laughing gas, nitrous, or factitious air, among others, is a chemical compound, an Nitrogen oxide, oxide of nitrogen with the Chemical formula, formula . At room te ...
) in regulatory cost-benefit analyses. In 2021, Schmitt and 21 other Republican attorneys general sued the Biden administration over Biden's revocation of the permit for the Keystone XL Pipeline.


Criminal justice

Schmitt launched the SAFE Kit Initiative in 2019 to reduce the backlog of untested sexual assault kits in Missouri. As of October 2021, thousands of kits remained to be tested. In January 2020, Schmitt prosecuted a murder case in the City of St. Louis. The jury returned a quick verdict, finding Antonio Muldrew guilty of first-degree murder for shooting and killing Ethiopian refugee Abdulrauf Kadir at a convenience store in 2014. This was the first time a Missouri Attorney General prosecuted a murder case in the City of St. Louis. Schmitt supported an effort in the Missouri legislature to increase the number of police officers in St. Louis City by lifting the residency requirement for police officers. Under Schmitt, the AG's Office sued the city of Marshfield, Missouri, alleging that it maintained a ticket-quota system in violation of a state law banning such quotas (Schmitt sponsored the law in the General Assembly before becoming AG). In 2020, the suit ended in a settlement in which the city agreed to maintain a compliance program and have its state officials undergo training on the law. On July 21, 2020, Schmitt filed "friend of the court" ( ''amicus'' briefs) that argued that "Missouri's statutes specifically authorize Missouri citizens to use firearms to deter assailants and protect themselves, their families, and homes from threatening or violent intruders" and requested dismissal of cases filed by prosecutor Kimberly Gardner against Patricia and Mark Thomas McCloskey for brandishing firearms at protesters who had trespassed on their property while marching in St. Louis in 2020. Schmitt expressed concern about "the chilling effect that this asemight have with people exercising their Second Amendment rights".


Antitrust

In September 2019, almost all 50 state attorneys general, including Schmitt, launched an antitrust investigation against Google. The bipartisan group of state AGs accused Google of prioritizing searches for companies that advertise on the search engine platform.


First Amendment

In August 2019, Schmitt withdrew a legal brief that argued that the First Amendment allowed government officials to withhold records from a Freedom of information Laws request, following criticism from transparency advocates who noted that the brief did not cite any case law. A Freedom Center of Missouri representative raised concern that the argument is similar to a case involving Governor
Mike Parson Michael Lynn Parson (born September 17, 1955) is an American politician and former law enforcement officer who served as the 57th List of governors of Missouri, governor of Missouri, from 2018 to 2025. A member of the Republican Party (United S ...
, which Schmitt had not yet ruled on. In 2022, Schmitt and
Jeff Landry Jeffrey Martin Landry ( ; born December 23, 1970) is an American politician and attorney who has served as the 57th governor of Louisiana since 2024. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 45th attorney general of Louisiana from 201 ...
sued the federal government, claiming it was censoring anti-vaccine activism on social media, with The Gateway Pundit among the co-plaintiffs. In 2024, the
Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
rejected the case due to the plaintiffs' lack of standing. In the decision, Amy Coney Barrett found no evidence of government coercion and wrote that plaintiffs cannot "manufacture standing" based on hypothetical or self-inflicted harm.


LGBTQ+ rights

In 2019, Schmitt was among 14 Republican state attorneys general signatories who signed an amicus brief to the Supreme Court brief arguing that the
Civil Rights Act of 1964 The Civil Rights Act of 1964 () is a landmark civil rights and United States labor law, labor law in the United States that outlaws discrimination based on Race (human categorization), race, Person of color, color, religion, sex, and nationa ...
does not protect LGBTQ+ people from
employment discrimination Employment discrimination is a form of illegal discrimination in the workplace based on legally protected characteristics. In the U.S., federal anti-discrimination law prohibits discrimination by employers against employees based on age, race, ...
. In June 2020, the Supreme Court ruled, 6–3, that employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation does violate the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In 2022, Schmitt was among 22 Republican state attorneys general who filed a lawsuit against the
Biden administration Joe Biden's tenure as the List of presidents of the United States, 46th president of the United States began with Inauguration of Joe Biden, his inauguration on January 20, 2021, and ended on January 20, 2025. Biden, a member of the Democr ...
over a program that prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation and
gender identity Gender identity is the personal sense of one's own gender. Gender identity can correlate with a person's assigned sex or can differ from it. In most individuals, the various biological determinants of sex are congruent and consistent with the in ...
in schools that receive federal funds.


Religion and schools

In 2019, Schmitt spoke in defense of the Cameron R-1 School District after it came under criticism from the
Freedom From Religion Foundation The Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) is an American nonprofit organization that advocates for atheism, atheists, agnosticism, agnostics, and nontheism, nontheists. Formed in 1976, FFRF promotes the separation of church and state, and ch ...
over a
high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...
coach who led students in prayer before and after games. The group contended that the practice violating the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. In a letter, Schmitt called the foundation an "extreme anti-religion organization" and said he would support the coach, school, and school district if the group sued and said that no one was forcing students and players to participate in prayer in public spaces.


''Texas v. Pennsylvania''

After Joe Biden won the 2020 election, Schmitt's office supported the Trump campaign's attempt to invalidate ballots it claimed were illegally cast in Pennsylvania. Schmitt was among 17 Republican attorneys general who supported Texas attorney general
Ken Paxton Warren Kenneth Paxton Jr. (born December 23, 1962) is an American politician and lawyer who has served as the attorney general of Texas since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served in the Texas Senate representing the e ...
in suing
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
,
Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
,
Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...
, and
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
to invalidate their electoral votes for Biden and overturn the election results. The suit claimed that the four states' presidential vote tallies were unconstitutional; no evidence supported these claims and the arguments had already been rejected in other state and federal courts. Because the suit was brought by one state against other states, the Supreme Court had
original jurisdiction In common law legal systems, original jurisdiction of a court is the power to hear a case for the first time, as opposed to appellate jurisdiction, when a higher court has the power to review a lower court's decision. India In India, the S ...
, though it frequently declines to hear such suits. There was no evidence of consequential illegal voting in the election. Paxton's lawsuit included claims that had been tried unsuccessfully in other courts and shown to be false. Officials from each of the four states said Paxton's lawsuit recycled false and disproven claims of irregularity. Legal experts and politicians sharply criticized the merits of the objections. Election law expert Rick Hasen called the lawsuit "the dumbest case I've ever seen filed on an emergency basis at the Supreme Court". Senator Ben Sasse said of Paxton that it "looks like a fella begging for a pardon filed a PR stunt", in reference to Paxton's own state and federal legal issues ( securities fraud charges and abuse of office allegations). On December 11, the Supreme Court quickly rejected the suit in an unsigned opinion.


Wrongful conviction cases

Schmitt has fought against motions calling for the release of Lamar Johnson, who was convicted for murder on the basis of a single eyewitness's testimony. A conviction integrity unit found overwhelming evidence of Johnson's innocence in 2019. Schmitt attempted to place sanctions on St. Louis Circuit Attorney Gardner prior to hearings, but was denied. Johnson was found innocent and released in February 2023 after having served 28 years in prison. Schmitt also resisted the release on procedural grounds of Kevin Strickland, who served 43 years before his exoneration in November 2021. A September 2020 '' Kansas City Star'' investigation prompted prosecutors to review Strickland's case. In 2021, the prosecutor in the court of original jurisdiction wrote that he was innocent and deserved release, as did former Jackson County prosecutors and federal prosecutors for the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri. Schmitt's assistant attorney general, Andrew Clarke, said their office believes Strickland to be guilty, that he should remain incarcerated, and that he had "worked to evade responsibility". In August 2021, Schmitt's office issued a subpoena requiring the Jackson County prosecutor to turn over any communication with third parties regarding the case, a demand she characterized as harassment. After Strickland's exoneration, the Jackson County Prosecutor said Schmitt's handling of the case amounted to "prosecutorial malpractice", saying, "it's a misunderstanding of the very basics—prosecutor 101". Schmitt attempted to dismiss hearings on Michael Politte's conviction in Washington County after the prosecuting attorney filed a motion saying physical evidence from the 23-year-old case had been "scientifically proven false".


Abortion

On June 24, 2022, minutes after the Supreme Court issued its decision in ''
Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization ''Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization'', 597 U.S. 215 (2022), is a List of landmark court decisions in the United States, landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States, United States Supreme Court in which the court held ...
'', which overturned the constitutional abortion protection that was set forth in '' Roe v. Wade'', Schmitt issued a declaration that effectively banned abortion in Missouri, with application of a "trigger law" that had passed in 2019.


Student debt

In September 2022, Schmitt filed a lawsuit on behalf of MOHELA to block President Biden's student debt relief plan. The lawsuit continued to the Supreme Court after Schmitt left the office of attorney general. Internal documents from MOHELA show confusion from the company from the time of the suit's filing.


Second Amendment

In 2016, Schmitt joined 23 other Republican members of the State Senate in voting in favor of SB 656, a bill that removed the requirement for a permit to open carry and added a "stand your ground" provision. After it passed the state legislature, Governor
Jay Nixon Jeremiah Wilson "Jay" Nixon (born February 13, 1956) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the List of governors of Missouri, 55th governor of Missouri from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic P ...
vetoed the bill, but the veto was overruled. In 2022, Schmitt received an "A+" rating and endorsement from the NRA Political Victory Fund.


U.S. Senate (2023–present)


Elections


2022

On March 24, 2021, Schmitt announced his candidacy for the
United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...
to succeed incumbent Republican Roy Blunt. His candidacy was backed by Missouri mega-donor Rex Sinquefield. In the speech announcing his candidacy, Schmitt tied himself to Donald Trump and railed against "the radical left". He pledged to vote against
Mitch McConnell Addison Mitchell McConnell III (; born February 20, 1942) is an American politician and attorney serving as the senior United States senator from Kentucky, a seat he has held since 1985. McConnell is in his seventh Senate term and is the long ...
for the Senate Republican party leadership position. In April 2022, Schmitt repeated a Great Replacement-derived claim on Glenn Beck's program that the Democratic Party seeks to "fundamentally" change the country through illegal immigration to the United States. The day before the primary, former president
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
released a statement endorsing "ERIC" ic Schmitt was joined in the Republican primary by two other candidates with that name, former
governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
Eric Greitens and lesser-known candidate Eric McElroy. Trump did not indicate which candidate or candidates he was endorsing, and declined to clarify.
Politico ''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American political digital newspaper company founded by American banker and media executive Robert Allbritton in 2007. It covers politics and policy in the Unit ...
reported it as an endorsement of both Greitens and Schmitt, as Trump had apparently expressed indecision about which of the two to back before a dual endorsement was suggested; he separately contacted both to pledge his support, and each subsequently claimed the endorsement as his. Schmitt won the Republican primary on August 2, 2022, with 45.6% of the vote. He won the general election with 55.4%, defeating Democratic nominee Trudy Busch Valentine by a margin of 13.2%.


Tenure

Upon the opening of the
118th United States Congress The 118th United States Congress was a meeting of the United States Congress, legislative branch of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House ...
on January 3, 2023, Schmitt was sworn in by Senate President and
Vice President A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...
Kamala Harris Kamala Devi Harris ( ; born October 20, 1964) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 49th vice president of the United States from 2021 to 2025 under President Joe Biden. She is the first female, first African American, and ...
. He tweeted that he was honored to be the 2,000th senator to hold office in the history of the Senate. Schmitt was among the 31 Senate Republicans who voted against final passage of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, a bill to raise the debt ceiling. In February 2025, when NBC's Kristen Welker asked Schmitt the same question posed to
Tulsi Gabbard Tulsi Gabbard (; born April 12, 1981) is an American politician and military officer serving as the director of National Intelligence, director of national intelligence (DNI) since 2025. She has held the rank of Lieutenant colonel (United Stat ...
during her DNI confirmation hearing—whether he would call
Edward Snowden Edward Joseph Snowden (born June 21, 1983) is a former National Security Agency (NSA) intelligence contractor and whistleblower who leaked classified documents revealing the existence of global surveillance programs. Born in 1983 in Elizabeth ...
a traitor—he said many asking this oppose Gabbard because she would "reform and curb the excesses and the worst instincts of the intelligence community that at times that has gone after presidential candidates". Later that month, after President Trump called Ukrainian president
Volodymyr Zelenskyy Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy (born 25 January 1978) is a Ukrainian politician and former entertainer who has served as the sixth and current president of Ukraine since 2019. He took office five years after the start of the Russo-Ukraini ...
a "dictator" and said Ukraine was at fault for the Ukraine war, Schmitt said Zelenskyy should not be "openly criticizing" Trump and should "stop lecturing" him. Schmitt said that Trump had spoken "a lot on the campaign trail" about "trying to negotiate a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. … He's a master negotiator, and I think he's going to get to a lasting peace." According to ABC News, Schmitt was the only Republican senator "to seemingly offer both support for Trump and the premise of his statements on Ukraine and Russia". Schmitt hired Nate Hochman as a policy advisor in February 2025. Hochman had previously been fired from his role as a speechwriter for the Ron DeSantis 2024 presidential campaign after creating a campaign video featuring a sonnenrad, a symbol used by neo-Nazis. In April 2025, when asked about Trump's defunding of Title X grants to Missouri healthcare providers, Schmitt said he would be "happy to look at it more closely", and questioned the severity of the defunding of federal programs. Also in April, Schmitt filed a bill to make Easter Monday a federal holiday. Committee assignments For the 117th United States Congress, Schmitt was named to two Senate Committees. They are: * Committee on Armed Services ** Subcommittee on Cybersecurity ** Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities ** Subcommittee on Seapower   * Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation ** Subcommittee on Space and Science (Ranking Member) ** Subcommittee on Communications, Media, and Broadband ** Subcommittee on Surface Transportation, Maritime, Freight, and Ports  


Electoral history


References


External links


Official U.S. Senate websiteLathrop & Gage LLP – People – Eric S. Schmitt
biography at his law firm * * , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Schmitt, Eric 1975 births 21st-century American lawyers 21st-century members of the Missouri General Assembly 21st-century Missouri politicians 21st-century United States senators Catholics from Missouri Living people Missouri attorneys general Missouri lawyers Missouri Republicans Politicians from St. Louis County, Missouri Republican Party Missouri state senators Republican Party United States senators from Missouri Saint Louis University School of Law alumni State treasurers of Missouri Truman State University alumni