Rep. Lloyd Smucker added to House GOP leadership

Rep. Lloyd Smucker (R-Pa.) on Wednesday was elected by the sophomore class of the House Republican conference to serve as their leadership representative.

Smucker, who represents Pennsylvania’s 11th Congressional District, is taking over for retiring Rep. Paul Mitchell (R-Mich.), who nominated the Pennsylvania Republican to succeed him after announcing his plans to step down from his post. 

Smucker praised Mitchell’s tenure in the role and said he is ready to hit the ground running. 

“I’d have been happy for Paul Mitchell for the rest of the year,” Smucker told The Hill in an interview. “I think he’s done a great job speaking for the class and great job as a congressman as well, and I’ll certainly miss him. He’s a good friend and I think a really effective member of Congress. So there are six months remaining, and I’m very thankful to my Republican colleagues for their support to serve as class rep for the remainder of the year, so I look forward to that.”

“I think we have a great leadership team — Leader [Kevin] McCarthy, Whip [Steve] Scalise and [House Republican Conference Chairwoman] Liz Cheney and the whole leadership team. And so I’m looking forward to being part of it, to support them and to advance an agenda that moves America forward.”

Mitchell also served as the freshman class leadership representative during the 115th Congress and was reelected to serve as the sophomore leadership representative at the start of the 116th Congress, but the Michigan Republican said he is ready to place his focus on other priorities. 

“I think leadership, to me, being an effective leader means recognizing when it’s time for a change, when it’s time to recognize that other people may be able to serve a greater cause better than you can at that point in time,” Mitchell told The Hill. 

“That’s my need to do it,  that’s why I thought it was the appropriate thing to do.”

Smucker currently sits on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the House Education and Labor Committee and is a member of the Republican Study Committee and Problem Solvers Caucus. 

Prior to being elected to the House in 2016, Smucker owned and operated a commercial construction company in his district and served as a state senator.