Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., is making Pentagon oversight a central priority in his bid to reclaim the chairmanship of the House Armed Services Committee, calling for greater scrutiny of the Trump administration’s military operations abroad, troop deployments to American cities and the Department of Defense’s spending.
In a Wednesday letter to his Democratic colleagues, the Washington representative called for more public testimony from senior defense officials and the restoration of a dedicated oversight subcommittee, listing strikes in the Caribbean and the U.S.’s war with Iran — the latter of which he called “illegal” — among his top concerns. Smith also questioned the need for a defense budget exceeding $1 trillion, arguing that Congress must reassert its authority over military policy under what he described as a “runaway Executive Branch.”
Smith, who won re-election in his district on Tuesday, currently serves as the committee’s ranking member. It’s chaired by Alabama Republican Rep. Mike Rogers.
Democrats took control of the House and Senate in this week’s midterm elections, and new committee chairs will be elected for the next legislative session. Smith previously chaired the committee from 2019 to 2023.
Smith blasted the Trump administration’s approach to national security, contending that its reliance on military force and unilateral action — he described the administration’s view as one that believes “might makes right” – has destabilized the globe and alienated the U.S. He called for a strategy that prioritizes partnerships, military deterrence and avoids expensive conflicts.
Smith also called for a shift in Pentagon spending priorities, advocating for more investment in low-cost munitions, uncrewed systems and drone and missile defenses. The war with Iran has used up to two-thirds of U.S.’s missile interceptor stock, according to a Congressional Budget Office analysis, in a drastic depletion that could take at least five years to restore. The U.S. has burned through expensive interceptors, which can cost millions of dollars per missile, to counter adversarial drones built at a fraction of the cost.
While acknowledging the need for advanced weapons systems, Smith said the Pentagon must strike a better balance between expensive platforms and cheaper, expendable capabilities.
He also criticized Trump’s proposal for a fleet of battleships.
“We need an appropriate mix of high-end survivable systems and lower-cost attritable capabilities, not a fleet of nuclear-powered battleships as proposed by the President,” he wrote.
Smith also raised concerns about how the Pentagon awards contracts and divvies out financial support to private companies, calling for closer examination of whether those awards serve taxpayers or are influenced by favoritism. While acknowledging Congress’s efforts to streamline the Pentagon’s notoriously bureaucratic acquisition process, Smith also argued that lawmakers still needed to know how defense dollars are spent, particularly as the military invests in new weapons systems.
Despite his criticism of the Trump administration, Smith insisted that he remained committed to passing the annual National Defense Authorization Act, though he acknowledged that working with Republicans would be “extraordinarily difficult.” The NDAA, an annual law that sets military policies and funding levels, remains unfinished this year after Senate Democrats blocked a procedural vote in July amid disagreements over the war in Iran and provisions involving Israel.
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