Murrell Smith Has Lost His Ability To Lead

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In South Carolina, there is no separation of powers. The legislative branch – a.k.a. the S.C. General Assembly – runs the show. And no elected official wields more influence over that branch than the speaker of the S.C. House of Representatives, Murrell Smith.

Smith’s chamber gets first crack at drafting the state budget each year, initiates all legislation dealing with revenue, enjoys outsized influence over the selection of judges and has speech squelching rules which permit its leader to dictate the flow of debate. Until recently, the chamber also took the lead in initiating the ouster of statewide constitutional officials.

That power is under siege at the moment, but the fundamental reality is the 124-member House is positioned to exert outsized influence over the legislative process – and Smith, as speaker, exerts outsized influence over the House.

Smith can move – and remove – members from committees as he sees fit. He can advance – or stall – legislation as he sees fit. He can do whatever he wants, in other words… until he can’t.

According to multiple sources familiar with the current situation in the S.C. House, the point where Smith “can’t” any longer is rapidly approaching… or is already here.

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Power, in an ideal world, is wielded by principled officials with the consent – and in the interests – of the governed. In reality, though, it is wielded by powerful special interests who use elected officials as their puppets. As a result, the goal of “governing” becomes advancing those special interests while doing just enough to fool just enough of the voters into believing you are still serving their interests.

The more the curtain is peeled back, though, the harder it becomes to keep the puppet show going… especially when the objectives of these special interests run completely counter to the will of the electorate.

For Smith, the fissures associated with this ongoing tap dance began to show after last session – when his bid to eliminate the conservative wing of his own party flopped spectacularly. Not only did the $2 million campaign to remove members of the S.C. Freedom Caucus fail to claim a single scalp – several ranking establishment incumbents actually lost their seats.

It was a humiliation for Smith… who apparently has failed to recognize there is no education in the second kick of a mule.

If Smith was on the proverbial hot seat after last year’s debacle, the 2025 session has turned his rostrum into a definitional dumpster fire – a conflagration upon which the 56-year-old has repeatedly poured gasoline.

In addition to doubling down on his war against the Freedom Caucus, Smith’s failure to advance an abortion bill favored by staunch evangelicals within his chamber reportedly has him at odds with the resurgent S.C. Family Caucus – causing another significant erosion of support on his right flank.

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This week, Smith took aim at another of his core constituencies when he sent a lawsuit reform “compromise” back to his judiciary committee – a backdoor attempt to gut what amounted to modest reforms of the Palmetto State’s unfair, anti-competitive tort climate.

Some of Smith’s top supporters in the so-called “business community” – already pissed at having to swallow an inconsequential lawsuit reform bill – were shocked to learn the speaker was going behind their backs on behalf of the über-liberal trial lawyer lobby (again).

“The house is absolutely run by special interests,” one strategist following the debate told us. “(The) uniparty. It’s all true. Sickening.”

Another put it more bluntly…

“Murrell Smith is the trial lawyer lobby’s bitch,” they said.

While the fate of lawsuit reform remains uncertain, Smith’s future is coming into clearer focus as he continues to play the “game of subtraction” within his own chamber.

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Wherever you stand on #Abortion, it is NOT going away in South Carolina. @SFLAction, a group instrumental in ousting a trio of S.C. senators last June, is back in the Palmetto State – supporting a new bill and eyeing a fresh list of legislative targets. https://t.co/95k3CNsuwL

— FITSNews (@fitsnews) April 23, 2025

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Think about it…

Fiscal conservatives. Evangelicals. Business leaders.

A “Republican” can survive in South Carolina without the support of one – maybe even two – of those core constituencies. But pissing off all three of them? Simultaneously?

Smith’s decision to defiantly stride into the center of such triangulated crossfire is all the more perplexing in light of his current political positioning. We are not dealing with a man who “bestrides the narrow world… like a Colussus,” as Shakespeare once wrote. Rather, Smith’s decision to self-immolate with multiple constituencies comes on the heels of arguably the biggest pooch screw of his entire political career – and perhaps the biggest unforced error by any “Republican” since the party seized the gavel of this chamber in 1995.

After boldly proclaiming tax reform as his top priority in 2025, Smith waited until the final weeks of the legislative session to roll out his proposal. When he finally did, members of the Freedom Caucus (and state revenue experts) quickly pointed out his plan provided a pittance of relief to a handful of wealthy taxpayers – while imposing a $1 billion tax hike on middle income earners.

Rank-and-file GOP House members who signed onto Smith’s bill were humiliated.

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What was Smith thinking? He wasn’t…

Things got even worse for the speaker earlier this month when S.C. Senate president Harvey Peeler deftly outflanked him on another bread-and-butter fiscal issue – rolling out a state budget that shaved $2.78 billion off of the House’s spending plan (while eliminating special interest earmarks in the process).

Smith’s caucus released an underwhelming “us, too” statement, but the proof was, as they say, in the pork.

Where does Smith go from here? It’s anybody’s guess, but sources familiar with the situation tell us the plank is already being extended… and Smith could very soon receive his invitation to take the proverbial lengthy stroll from a short pier.

In fact, multiple House members with intimate knowledge of the situation say the only thing holding up Smith’s inevitable ouster is uncertainty as to whom they intend to anoint as his successor.

Needless to say, stay tuned…

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…

Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.

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