Rep. Adam Smith, Incoming Head Of Armed Services Committee, Vows To Challenge Trump's Lies

The incoming head of the House Armed Services Committee has called out Donald Trump, giving the president a taste of what he’s in for with a new Democratic majority.

“Constant misinformation from the president is a real problem in a democratic society, and we in Congress have got to do our best to hold him accountable,” warned Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), who’s taking over leadership of the committee in January.

Earlier this month, Smith vowed that the committee would no longer allow Trump’s falsehoods to go unchallenged, The Stars and Stripes reported.

Just this week Trump claimed that he had personally boosted military pay by 10 percent in the troops’ first raise in 10 years. In fact, the military was given a 2.6 percent raise and has received wage hikes each year for the past 30 years.

Smith also said that the committee would oppose Trump’s push to create a new “Space Force” and increase the military budget by 5 percent.

As for Mexican border security, Smith said Trump doesn’t understand the issue. Over the past 12 years, the border security budget has quintupled, resulting in “a significant decline in unlawful border crossings,” Smith said.

Under Trump, the nation’s total debt has also skyrocketed to $22 trillion and will soon be increasing by $1 trillion each year. Interest on that debt will surpass the size of the defense budget this fiscal year.

The debt “hangs over everything,” Smith said.