I am grateful for the trust voters have placed in me, the friendship constituents have shown me, and the opportunities that serving in Congress have given me.

Representing the 21^st District and its more than 700,000 residents is an honor almost beyond description. To enact legislation that will benefit millions of Americans and to help constituents in their dealings with the federal government has been an immense privilege.

Having chaired the Ethics, Judiciary, and Science Committees, and also served as a member of the Homeland Security and Budget Committees, I’ve been able to shape policy involving ethics, immigration, crime, intellectual property, space, energy, the environment, the budget and high tech.

And, through the years, it’s been gratifying to have been named one of the 100 most influential people in D.C., one of the most effective members of Congress, and Legislator of the Year.

It is humbling living in a small apartment in Washington four nights a week. And I seldom leave the office before late at night. But traveling back to Texas almost every weekend recharges the batteries.

For several reasons, this seems like a good time to pass on the privilege of representing the 21st District to someone else. At the end of this Congress, I will have completed my six-year term as Chairman of the Science, Space, and Technology Committee. I have one new grandchild and a second arriving soon!! And I hope to find other ways to stay involved in politics.

With over a year remaining in my term, there is still much to do. There is legislation to enact, dozens of hearings to hold, and hundreds of votes to cast.

Our nation faces many challenges but we will always prevail if we put the interests of American citizens and taxpayers first. A successful democracy requires an honest media, true patriots, and respect for the rule of law. All of us can do our part to help promote these ideals.

Heartfelt thanks and much appreciation goes to family, friends, constituents, colleagues, and staff members for a productive three decades. I will always value their dedication and support.

I feel like it’s the Fourth of July and a new era of independence from an arrogant and unresponsive federal government.

Hard-working men and women whose incomes have been flat and those looking for work have found their voice and delivered the election to someone who heard them. Americans are tired of being told what to do and think by liberal politicians and the media.

The American people want a president who will put their interests first, not expand the government's control over their lives. They have rejected bad trade deals, open borders, heavy-handed regulations, Obamacare, a liberal Supreme Court, political correctness, and business as usual in Washington, DC.

When I learned I was the first member of Congress to contribute to Donald Trump, I didn't know whether to smile or frown. Now I realize that few actions have given me as much satisfaction. The walk-on quarterback has won the Super Bowl!

(Washington, DC) May 13, 2016 – Today, nine Chairmen in the U.S. House of Representatives – Steve Chabot (Small Business), Michael Conaway (Agriculture), Jeb Hensarling (Financial Services), Candice Miller (House Administration), Jeff Miller (Veterans’ Affairs), Tom Price (Budget), Pete Sessions (Rules), Bill Shuster (Transportation and Infrastructure), and Lamar Smith (Science, Space and Technology) – endorsed Donald J. Trump for President 

By Congressman Lamar Smith

Donald Trump may not have been on all Republicans’ short list of favorite presidential candidates (he wasn’t on mine), but he is the presumed GOP nominee now. We can embrace his policies even if we grimace at his past personal lifestyle or some of his public comments (a few of which he may regret himself). We need to become committed, even enthusiastic backers for many reasons.

Consider the alternative. Whoever the Democratic nominee, their policies will produce four more years of slow economic growth, stagnant wages, stifling regulations, and unprecedented executive orders.

In the general election, we will be voting not only for president but also for the future of the Supreme Court, since the next president likely will get three nominees confirmed. A Democratic president will appoint liberal justices who will lock in laws increasing government control of our daily lives, restricting our personal liberties, and further eroding family values.

Donald Trump, on the other hand, has declared he will reduce the deficit, lower taxes, dismantle Obamacare, restrict illegal immigration, fix unfair trade agreements, and repeal unconstitutional executive orders. Mr. Trump’s policies are geared to help working Americans, especially those who have lost out in recent years. That could well explain why he has received a record number of votes for a Republican presidential nominee.

In considering Donald Trump, we should also remember the national media’s blatant liberal bias. For starters, don’t believe what the media/liberal Democrats say or write. Their slanted coverage of Mr. Trump is off the charts, often irrational,misleading and hateful. Take the issue that has propelled his candidacy – illegal immigration. If you listen to the media, he called all immigrants “rapists and criminals,” which is taken out of context since he also called immigrants “good people.”

Furthermore, there was an element of truth to what Mr. Trump said about illegal immigrants that is almost never reported by the media. In fact, one-third of all federal prisoners are illegal immigrants who were convicted of serious crimes including rape and drug trafficking. Since illegal immigrants comprise 3.5% of the population, they are almost ten times more likely to be convicted of a federal crime than the population as a whole.

It is also obvious that most of the national media will go easy on any wrong-doing by Hillary Clinton, if she is the Democrat nominee. Her use of a personal server for official emails endangered our national security. Her negligent role as Secretary of State during the deaths of four Americans at the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi is still undisclosed. But her war onsmall businesses, taxpayers, and free markets is there for all to see.

If you screen out the biased treatment of Donald Trump and listen to his personal interviews, you can glimpse a candidate who loves America, wants to protect the long-suffering American worker, and feels our country is on the wrong track, as do 65% of the American people.

No one should doubt he represents most of the American people on many subjects: reduce the deficit (56%), secure the border (67%), reevaluate the recent trade agreement (52%), rein in political corruption (75%), and recognize media bias (70%)*. He also appears to be a conscientious father, a respected employer, and without question a straight-talking candidate.

Worried about President Trump’s approval ratings? Not long ago a presidential candidate was known as a Vietnam draft dodger, a womanizer, and had acquired the nickname, “Slick Willie.” At one point, only 13% of the public thought him trustworthy, one-third of Donald Trump’s approval rating today. Bill Clinton went on to be elected and re-elected president.

As the saying goes, “Where there is no choice, there is no problem.” While Donald Trump may not be a perfect Republican presidential candidate, the alternative would be far worse. The time has come to unite behind someone with whom we have more in common than we might have thought.

(Rep. Lamar Smith, R-TX, is Chairman of the House of Representatives’ Science, Space, and Technology Committee and is a former chairman of the Judiciary Committee.)

This week, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the lawsuit led by Texas against President Obama’s lawless executive amnesty. I recently joined Texas’ lawsuit with Senators Cruz and Cornyn. We have been successful in the lower courts and hope the Supreme Court will rule that granting amnesty to five million illegal immigrants is unconstitutional.