Eric Stephen Schmitt is an American attorney and Republican Party politician serving since 2023 as the junior United States senator from Missouri. Schmitt served as the 46th state treasurer of Missouri from 2017 to 2019 and as the 43rd Missouri attorney general from 2019 to 2023.
Schmitt began his political career as an alderman for Glendale, Missouri. From 2009 to 2017, he represented the 15th district in the Missouri Senate, during which he sponsored major reductions in the state income tax and franchise tax, and expanded benefits and tax exemptions for disabled citizens. As a state senator, Schmitt also led a bipartisan effort in response to the Ferguson unrest to successfully eliminate traffic ticket quotas and limit local revenues from non-traffic fines. In 2016, Schmitt was elected State Treasurer of Missouri.
In 2018, Governor Mike Parson appointed Schmitt Missouri Attorney General. He was elected to a full four-year term as attorney general in 2020. As attorney general, he filed or joined lawsuits seeking to invalidate the Affordable Care Act, challenge the results of the 2020 presidential election (in Texas v. Pennsylvania), and, on 25 occasions, oppose the policies of the Joe Biden administration. He also sued school districts and municipalities for implementing mask requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic and sued the government of China and Chinese Communist Party for their alleged role in the pandemic.
In 2022, Schmitt was elected to the U.S. Senate, defeating Democratic nominee Trudy Busch Valentine. He is the vice chair of the Congressional Joint Economic Committee. As a senator, Schmitt supports national conservatism, and was a speaker at the 2025 National Conservatism Conference.
