Steven S. Smith

Professor Emeritus of Political Science
Former Director of the Weidenbaum Center on the Economy, Government, and Public Policy
Kate M. Gregg Distinguished Professor of Social Science
PHD, University of Minnesota
research interests:
  • American Politics
  • Congressional Politics
  • Russian Legislative Politics
  • Development of Political Institutions
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    contact info:

    mailing address:

    • Washington University
    • MSC 1063-228-207
    • One Brookings Drive
    • St. Louis, MO 63130-4899
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    ​Professor Smith has worked on Capitol Hill in several capacities and has served as a senior fellow at the Brooking Institution. He has also authored or co-authored six books on congressional politics and recently a book on the formation of the Russian State Duma.

    Smith is working on books on party leadership in the US Senate and the nature of party effects on congressional voting. Smith also directs The American Panel Survey (TAPS), a national political opinion poll that goes out each month to the same group of about 2000 citizens. Professor Smith retired in June 2023.

    in the news:

    Steven S. Smith awarded the 2023 Barbara Sinclair Lecture

    Steven S. Smith awarded the 2023 Barbara Sinclair Lecture

    Prof. Steven Smith retires after 20+ years of scholarship at WashU

    Prof. Steven Smith retires after 20+ years of scholarship at WashU

    Celebrating Faculty Retirements

    Celebrating Faculty Retirements

    Professor Steven Smith is Published in The Washington Post

    Professor Steven Smith is Published in The Washington Post

    Read more news
    The American Congress

    The American Congress

    By Steven S Smith, Jason M Roberts, and Ryan J Vander Wielen

    The American Congress provides the most current treatment of congressional politics available in an undergraduate text. Informed by the authors' Capitol Hill experience and scholarship, this book presents a crisp introduction to major features of Congress: parties and committee systems, leadership, voting, and floor activity. This text contains discussions of the importance of presidents, courts, and interest groups in congressional policy making. Recent developments are also discussed within the context of congressional political history.

    Politics or Principle?: Filibustering in the United States Senate

    Politics or Principle?: Filibustering in the United States Senate

    By Sarah A Binder and Steven S Smith

    Is American democracy being derailed by the United States Senate filibuster? Is the filibuster an important right that improves the political process or an increasingly partisan tool that delays legislation and thwarts the will of the majority? Are century-old procedures in the Senate hampering the institution from fulfilling its role on the eve of the 21st century?