Pointing to increasing trade opportunities and "a pro-growth tax policy," Rep. Adrian Smith says President Donald Trump has been good for Nebraska and deserves to be reelected this year.
Smith, the 3rd District Republican congressman, voted against the articles of impeachment of the president approved by the House, arguing that Democrats "just want to get rid of him and reverse the will of the people" who elected Trump four years ago.
"Hillary (Clinton) won the popular vote" in 2016, he said, and "Democrats are mad."
"I wouldn't do everything the way the president has," Smith said during an interview in Lincoln, but Trump has done nothing that "rises to the level of an impeachable offense."
Smith's 3rd District encompasses all of western and central Nebraska, along with the northeastern and southeastern corners of the state. It has been solid Republican territory for more than half a century.
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Trade prospects for Nebraska agriculture are beginning to increase now under Trump, the seven-term congressman said. Â
"Ag producers are very excited about the future," he said.
Nebraska agriculture took an estimated $2 billion hit over a two-year period during the trade wars ignited by Trump's tariffs, which followed his withdrawal of the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement and subsequent renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement.
"Agriculture knew something needed to be done," Smith said, and the end result is going to benefit Nebraska.
The new U.S.-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) agreement that was negotiated to succeed NAFTA will be "good for Nebraska agriculture," he said, and so are new agreements that are being negotiated with Japan and China.
"Trade writ large is so important for Nebraska," Smith said. "And the fact that more people are talking about trade is a silver lining for all of us."
Nebraska will also benefit from Trump's elimination of a number of environmental protection rules that have hindered agriculture, Smith said.
Meanwhile, he said, "we all benefit from a growing economy" that has developed during the Trump administration, thanks in part to "a pro-growth tax policy."
As a senior member of the House Ways and Means Committee, Smith plays a role in determining tax policy.
"I want to continue to keep an eye on positive changes in our tax code," he said.