Incoming House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) has named fifth-term Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) as his chief deputy, rewarding one of his top supporters during last week’s leadership race.
McHenry will replace Rep. Peter Roskam (R-Ill.), who ran unsuccessfully against Scalise to replace Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) as whip. McCarthy will take over as majority leader for Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.), who lost his seat in a surprise primary upset.
In a statement, Scalise said McHenry’s previous role as a deputy whip gave him the “invaluable experience, insight and judgment to help me lead the whip team and bring the conference together to grow the vote.”
{mosads}The primary responsibility of the whip team is to help secure votes for the leadership’s priorities. McHenry is a conservative and a senior member of the House Financial Services Committee.
First elected to the House in 2004, he would be the youngest member of the GOP leadership, at 38, but he has served in Congress longer than any member of the team except Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and the conference chairwoman, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (Wash.), who was also elected in 2004.
Boehner praised McHenry as “an excellent choice” in a brief statement.
In addition to McHenry, Scalise named five other senior deputy whips: Reps. Kristi Noem (S.D.), Dennis Ross (Fla.), Aaron Schock (Ill.), Steve Stivers (Ohio) and Ann Wagner (Mo.).
“The senior deputy whip team will ensure that the voices, interests and values of every member are represented at the table,” Scalise said. “I will work relentlessly with our team to unite our conference and grow the vote.”
Except for Noem and Schock, the entire deputy whip team serves on the Financial Services Committee.