Meet Bill Flores, the Texas Congressman Who Wants to Be ‘Consensus Leader’ for Conservatives

Bill Flores could be one of the friendliest faces in Congress.

True to his Aggie roots, his Capitol Hill office parades pride for both his country and home state of Texas. Talk to Flores for five minutes, and you’ll feel a special allegiance to the Lone Star state.

Flores touts himself as a congressman who can get along with anyone — a skill that’s essential to lead.

That’s why he threw his hat into the ring to chair the Republican Study Committee, a group of House Republicans responsible for advancing a conservative social and economic agenda.

Although familiar to relatively few Americans, the RSC is one of the nation’s most influential groups of conservatives. Holding the chairmanship can be substantial to a congressman’s career.

Recent RSC chairmen include Jeb Hensarling of Texas, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, and Jim Jordan of Ohio, chairman of the Oversight Subcommittee on Economic Growth.

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This year offers three contenders for the chairman’s seat: Flores, Mick Mulvaney of South Carolina and another Texan, Louie Gohmert.

Flores, 60, says one stark difference between him and his competitors is that he’s not one to make enemies out of allies.

“If you look at my history in Congress in the last four years, you won’t see that I’ve done anything to embarrass the team or to burn bridges in the conference,” Flores says in an interview with  The Daily Signal. “You won’t find any volatile quotes out in the press where I’ve run the team down publicly.”

Instead, Flores says he maintains a collaborative, member-driven leadership style.

“I don’t have all the answers, so my goal is to make sure that the 180-some odd members of the RSC each have a seat at the table where we can talk about their vision.”

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But that’s not to say Flores is afraid to ruffle some feathers.

A ninth-generation Texan, Flores grew up Baptist in Stratford, a small town in the Texas Panhandle. He delivered papers at the age of 10; by 13, he spent six days a week during the summer driving a tractor, building fences and working cattle.

He paid his own way through Texas A&M University, graduating in 1976 with a degree in accounting. In 1985, he received a master’s degree in business administration from Houston Baptist University.

This humble-yet-determined upbringing formed the foundation for Flores’ conservative views and values.

The Strategy

When Bill Flores finds himself in disagreement with leadership, his strategy is to walk into the appropriate office and confront the situation head-on.

“But that stays inside that room,” he stresses.

Issues that Flores hopes to spearhead as chairman of the RSC include job creation and economic growth, restoration of a strong national defense, promotion of traditional social values and balancing the federal budget.

Flores already is a member of the House Budget Committee. He also hopes to leverage his experience as president and CEO of Phoenix Exploration, an oil and gas company, to spearhead a new conservative strategy to make America an energy superpower.

“I’d love to see an energy strategy for the first time in a long time, something like the Jindal-Flores plan that we just published six weeks ago.”

These issues all come second to repealing and replacing Obamacare, a move that Mulvaney, Gohmert and Flores say they agree upon.

Besides saying he is a “better consensus leader” than his two competitors, Flores touts his record on national defense as a pillar for mustering support away from Mulvaney, who some GOP insiders figure is leading the race.

Of the 38 national defense bills considered important to the RSC, “I’ve got a 100 percent voting record,” Flores says. “Louie’s [score] is 67 percent and Mulvaney’s is 13 percent — and these are the votes that the RSC members think are important.”

In a conference that places a high value on national security, the talking point carries a lot of weight.

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Another potential breaking point?

Mulvaney told The New York Times that he is open to granting legal status to some of the estimated 11 million immigrants living in the U.S. illegally — a major bone of contention between the party’s “establishment” and conservative wings.

Flores and Gohmert say they oppose any form of amnesty or “reward” for those in the country illegally.

The Way Forward

Whether Flores wins or loses in his bid for RSC chairman, one thing looks certain: The congressman will continue serving the Lone Star State with an optimistic smile, helping to anchor the RSC’s clout with Republican majorities in the House and Senate.

“In the 114th Congress, [the RSC] is going to be the biggest, most influential caucus in Congress,” Flores says.  “[It has] the ability to have the greatest impact for the good of the American people that we’ve see in a long time.”

Given the new political landscape, Flores says, conservatives “need to make sure that we take advantage of its size, its character and the passion of its members.”

Why?

“To make sure that we can take the headwinds that are coming out of Washington in the face of our American businesses and families and turn those headwinds into tailwinds.”