Having kept their majority in last week’s elections, House Republicans have picked their leaders for the 113th Congress.
Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), and Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) will keep their top spots.
Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) was elected conference chairman, the No. 4 leadership spot.
“We are united by our conservative principles, a spirit of reform to return America to prosperity, and a recognition that we must do better as a Conference to deliver our message to every corner of America to build a long-term Republican Majority in Congress,” said McMorris Rodgers, who served as vice chairman for the past four years. “I look forward to working with Speaker Boehner, Leader Cantor, Whip McCarthy, and the rest of the new Leadership team to get results for the American people and to keep the American Dream alive for generations to come.”
McMorris Rodgers defeated Republican Policy Committee chairman Tom Price (R-Ga.) for the spot. Price was supported by the outgoing chairman, Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas).
Hensarling is moving over to the chairmanship of the House Financial Services Committee.
Rep. Lynn Jenkins (R-Kan.) moves into McMorris Rodgers’ old spot, and Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) will become conference secretary.
Rep.-elect Ann Wagner (Mo.) will be the freshman liaison to leadership.
In a close race to head the conservative Republican Study Committee caucus, Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) beat Rep. Tom Graves (R-Ga.). Graves had been supported by the caucus founders while Scalise was a Boehner-backed choice.
“The Republican Study Committee is the conservative conscience of the House, and I’m humbled and honored to be chosen as the RSC’s leader for the 113th Congress,” Scalise said. “The American people chose the Republican House to serve as the only line of defense against Barack Obama’s liberal agenda, and the RSC must stand tall as the conservative rudder, steering the House towards more conservative solutions as we work to get our country back on the right track. We must unite as conservatives around our shared beliefs of economic opportunity for all Americans through lower taxes, controlled Washington spending, and more individual freedom.”
Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.) will become chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee. Current chairman Pete Sessions (R-Texas) has been nominated to replace retiring Rep. David Dreier (R-Calif.) as head of the Rules Committee.
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