A number of influential House chairmen, including key allies of Speaker Nancy Pelosi, have signed a letter this morning endorsing Majority Leader Steny Hoyer in his race against Democratic Whip James Clyburn to be the new minority whip next Congress.
“Leader Hoyer is ready to hit the ground running as Democratic Whip,” the chairmen write. “He is one of our party’s most effective messengers, with the ability to challenge Republicans on the Floor, build support for our party’s middle-class policies across America, and fight back against the special-interest money that played such an important role for Republicans in this election.”
Like us, Congressman Hoyer
understands that Americans do not support the Republican agenda of repealing health care reform, loosening rules that protect consumers and our environment, privatizing Social Security, and funding tax cuts for the wealthy with billions of dollars in new debt.Steny Hoyer is a tested leader who can help Democrats rise to the challenge of the next Congress, protect the interests of the middle class, and win back the majority. For those reasons, we support Steny Hoyer as our next Democratic Whip, and we hope that you will do the same.
Among the signatories are Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank, and Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Henry Waxman — both influential Pelosi allies. Ed Markey — Chair of the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming — is also a signatory, and a Pelosi ally, but announced his support for Hoyer late last week. That so many members loyal to Pelosi have endorsed Hoyer in this race suggests, at the very least, that she’s picked no preference in the contest, and may in fact support Hoyer.
Hoyer’s supporters are confident he’s locked down the votes to win this thing, should it come to a vote, but a significant portion of the caucus and House leadership are hoping the two reach an agreement that keeps both of them in leadership. You can read the entire letter here.
Brian Beutler
Brian Beutler is TPM's senior congressional reporter. Since 2009, he's led coverage of health care reform, Wall Street reform, taxes, the GOP budget, the government shutdown fight, and the debt limit fight. He can be reached at brian@talkingpointsmemo.com.
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