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Statements by Congressman Smith Office

Rep. Smith condemns the assassination attempt on President Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner
April 26, 2026
Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) issued the below statement following the third assassination attempt on President Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday, April 25th: “President Trump was again courageous, strong, resolute, gracious and extraordinarily calm in the face of yet another attempt on his life at the White House Correspondent’s Dinner. “Secret Service brought down and arrested the heavily armed alleged perpetrator, but not without one agent getting shot, who was thankfully... More

Article

Washington Examiner article on Smith-Wicker letter to NIH Director Bhattacharya'Anti-abortion Republicans call on NIH to stop human embryonic stem cell research'
April 24, 2026

By Gabrielle M. Etzel Published April 24, 2026 at 6:00am ET A coalition of anti-abortion legislators is calling for an end to human embryonic stem cell research at the National Institutes of Health, reviving a debate on the ethical use of aborted fetal materials in research after nearly two decades of inaction on the controversy. Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS), along with 16 other House members and five other senators, sent a letter on Friday to NIH Director Dr. Jay Bhattac... More

Article

The Daily Signal article on Smith's press conference on HR 1144'Congress Advances Prevention and Education to End Human Trafficking'
April 24, 2026

By Virginia Grace McKinnon Published April 24, 2026 Congress is putting parties aside to extend the bipartisan protection and prevention of human trafficking in the United States. The Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act has been stalled in the House since February 2025. But Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., and Rep. Kwesi Mfume, D-Md., are now calling for more education to prevent human trafficking, increased funding to support victims, and stronger guard... More

Press Release

23 members of Congress send letterRep. Smith, Sen. Wicker urge NIH Director Bhattacharya to halt unethical human embryonic stem cell research
April 24, 2026
Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Co-Chair of the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus, Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS), and 21 other Republican members of Congress sent a letter to National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, urging him to permanently end the agency’s funding of human embryo-destroying stem cell (hESC) research and terminate the NIH Human Embryonic Stem Cell Registry (Registry). The letter, first obtained by the Washington Examiner, asserts that hESC research—which the NIH has ... More

Press Release

“This legislation is of, by, and for survivors—to help heal, restore, and empower”Lawmakers, human trafficking survivors, and advocates call on Congress to pass Smith’s new anti-human trafficking bill, H.R. 1144
April 24, 2026
Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) speaks at his Capitol Hill press conference on H.R. 1144 on Thursday, April 23, 2026. At a widely attended press conference on Capitol Hill, Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), author of landmark anti-human trafficking legislation, and Rep. Kweisi Mfume (D-MD) called upon Congress to pass their new, comprehensive bill, the Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act (FD TVPRA) (H.R. 1144). The press conference gathered human trafficking surv... More