After two months on the job, the reshuffled leadership of the House of Representatives drew accolades this week from the Republican conference’s conservative faction for working to make sure the voices of all members are being heard.
During the monthly gathering Thursday called Conversations With Conservatives, Rep. Mick Mulvaney, R-S.C., commended the newly elected members of the leadership for creating an atmosphere where GOP lawmakers could “vent” and engage in debates over a range of policy issues facing the chamber.
“I’m very pleased with the tenor of the conference, the direction of the conference, the practices of the conference,” Mulvaney said.
After then-Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia lost his primary in June, Republicans voted to elect a new No. 2 under Speaker John Boehner of Ohio. They chose Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California, formerly in the No. 3 slot as majority whip. To replace him, they elected Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana.
During Thursday’s gathering with reporters, Rep. Raúl Labrador, R-Idaho, who had challenged McCarthy in the race for leader, cited the Republican conference’s internal debates on immigration reform and on arming and training Syrian rebels to fight the terrorist group ISIS.
Such discussions “bode well” for leadership and members who “want to feel like their voices have been heard,” Labrador said, adding:
The people who are now leading the conference understand what a hunger there was for the conference to be listened to more.
