In his whip campaign, he boasted about his conservative credentials and pointed out that he’d be the only GOP leader from the South, which had a major role in giving Republicans their largest House majority in decades.
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House Majority Whip Steve Scalise is also entering the race to become the next House Majority Leader.
“He and I have served for years together on the Budget and Ways and Means Committees, working to pay down our debt, fix our tax code, and grow our economy, ” Ryan said in a statement.
“As both Republican study committee chairman and majority whip, I’ve made it a top priority to bring openness and inclusiveness into the legislative process so we can bring our dynamic conference together as we advance our agenda”, he continued.
“I think Scalise is the logical choice for majority leader, ” said Pearson Cross, a political scientist at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
Scalise does not belong to the Freedom Caucus, which was formed by conservatives unhappy with Boehner’s leadership.
Price is an orthopedic surgeon who served in the Georgia Legislature (and who was the first-ever Republican Senate Majority Leader there) prior to his election to the U.S. House in 2004.
The leading candidate is Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California, the majority leader who is widely viewed more favorably by the more conservative members.
Scalise, 49, was elected in June 2014 as whip, responsible for counting and corralling Republican votes for legislation endorsed by the leadership.
Last year, Scalise defeated Reps. Peter Roskam of Illinois and Marlin Stutzman of Indiana in a secret ballot.
“The best way right now for me to empower my colleagues through positive change is to remain conference chair”, said McMorris Rodgers, a six-term conservative lawmaker from Eastern Washington. More recent disagreements with Boehner over the defunding of Planned Parenthood and other issues increased the pressure on him from the right, including from the Freedom Caucus, with a few members fomenting a coup against him – and that evidently led Boehner to quit, thereby preventing a nasty intraparty fight. I have long said that Republicans can not simply be the ‘Party of No.’ Republicans must put forth credible alternatives to Obamacare and take up immigration reform that secures our border.
However, the Times said, McHenry, “has a low profile, given his experience”.
Fleming said Friday he didn’t know whom he would support for speaker, but that he was looking for someone who would be a voice for conservatives on policy and tactics.
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“We talked about relationships and concepts”, Rep. John Fleming, R-Minden, said after the meeting, adding that there were no specific discussions about policy.
