• Professor, Political Science
• Director, Weidenbaum Center on the Economy, Government and Public Policy

Steven Smith

Download

• Ph.D. at University of Minnesota

News Stories & Tip Sheets:

Showing Stories 1 through 5 of 11.  - Show More

Switch hitter Despite move to Democrats, Specter likely to vote outside the fold April 28, 2009 -- Smith Download Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter's decision to switch his allegiance to the Democratic Party will likely raise further questions about the Republican Party's ability to appeal to moderate voters, but Democrats should realize that Specter will remain fairly independent in his voting on key issues, including ongoing opposition to pro-union "card check" provisions, suggests Steven S. Smith, a congressional expert at Washington University in St. Louis.

Smash and grab? 'Politics as usual' complicate push for bi-partisan stimulus bill, expert says Feb. 4, 2009 -- Smith As the White House pleads for bipartisan support of a massive federal stimulus plan, congressional Democrats and Republicans are maneuvering, strategizing, nervously seeking partners in an awkward legislative first dance that may determine whether Barack Obama makes good on his promise to bring change to Washington, suggests Steven S. Smith, a congressional expert at Washington University in St. Louis.

Is this any way to elect a president? Iowa's special role in primaries may end in 2008, expert suggests Jan. 3, 2008 -- Steven Smith Today's Iowa Caucuses may be the last in which the largely rural, sparsely populated and predominately white conservative Midwestern state exerts such a huge influence on the presidential nomination process, predicts Steven S. Smith, a political expert at Washington University in St. Louis.

Politics of privilege Bush power struggle with Congress poses messy constitutional, political issues, expert says July 27, 2007 -- Steven Smith By claiming far-reaching and unprecedented executive privilege in its power struggles with the U.S. Congress, the Bush White House has roiled the political waters, forcing both Democrats and Republicans to weigh near-term political consequences of their response against a real and tangible threat to the long-term constitutional powers of Congress, suggests a congressional expert from Washington University in St. Louis.

Congressional Showdown? White House will likely dodge congressional contempt charges, expert suggests July 13, 2007 -- Steven Smith While members of the U.S. House and Senate are threatening to hold White House officials in contempt of Congress over the administration's efforts to withhold testimony in an ongoing investigation of the controversial firings of U.S. attorneys, the dispute is likely to fizzle without much of a showdown, suggests a congressional expert from Washington University in St. Louis.

Showing Stories 1 through 5 of 11.  - Show More

Clips:

Showing Clips 1 through 3 of 21.  - Show More

Show More Clips

States rebel against Washington The Christian Science Monitor March 27, 2009 -- Just as California under President Bush asserted itself on issues ranging from gun control to medical marijuana, a motley cohort of states — from South Carolina to New Hampshire — are presenting a foil for President Obama's national ambitions. WUSTL political science professor Steve Smith, who is director of WUSTL's Weidenbaum Center on the Economy, Government and Public Policy, comments.

Stimulus fight gives Obama lessons early USA Today and 1 others Feb. 12, 2009 -- WUSTL political science professor Steve Smith comments on some lessons learned by Obama and his team in the push for the stimulus bill.

Bush steers the bailout bus; Dems play backseat driver The Hill (DC) online Nov. 25, 2008 -- The government's midnight bailout of hobbled banking giant Citigroup leaves the Bush administration firmly in charge of the financial rescue package while Congress is away on recess and President-elect Barack Obama continues to assemble his Cabinet. WUSTL congressional expert Steve Smith said Congress is in a weak position. "There is essentially nothing they can do except hold a hearing every other day," he said.

Books:

• The American Congress (Houghton Mifflin, 1995, 1999)
• Committees in Congress (CQ Press, 1984, 1990, 1997), with C.J. Deering
• Call to Order: Floor Politics in the House and Senate (Brookings, 1989)
• Managing Uncertainty in the House of Representatives: Adaptation and Innovation in Special Rules (Brookings, 1988), with S. Bach
• Politics or Principle: Filibustering in the United States Senate (Brookings, 1997), with S. Binder
• The Politics of Institutional Choice: The Formation of the Russian State Duma (Princeton University Press, 2001), with T. Remington
• The Principles and Practice of American Politics (CQ Press, 2000), with S. Kernell

Recent Articles:

• "The Supreme Court at the Bar of Political Science," Yale Law Review (forthcoming), with P. Frickey
• Positive Theories of Congressional Parties," Legislative Studies Quarterly (May 2000), Rod Kiewiet, special editor
• "Last Among Equals: The Presiding Officer of the Senate," in B. Loomis, ed., Esteemed Colleagues: Civility and Deliberation in the United States Senate (Brookings Institution, 2000), with G. Gamm
• "The Emergence of Senate Party Leadership," in B. Oppenheimer, ed., Senate Exceptionalism (Ohio State University Press, forthcoming), with G. Gamm
• "The Dynamics of Party Government in Congress," in L. Dodd and B. Oppenheimer, eds., Congress Reonsidered, 7th ed. (CQ Press, forthcoming), with G. Gamm
• "The Consequences of Senate Party Leadership," in D. Brady and M. McCubbins, eds., Studies in the History of Congress (University of California Press, forthcoming), with G. Gamm
• "Decrees, Laws, and Inter-Branch Relations in the Russian Federation," Post-Soviet Affairs 14 (1998): 287-322, with T. Remington and M. Haspel
• "Political Goals and Procedural Choice in the Senate," Journal of Politics (May 1998), with S. Binder
• "Electoral Institutions and Party Cohesion in the Russian Duma," Journal of Politics (May 1998), with T. Remington
• "Theories of Legislative Institutions and the Organization of the Russian Duma," American Journal of Political Science (April 1998), with T. Remington