Eric Cantor

Cantor: Health Care And Tax Fights Will Be Decided By The Election

Brian Beutler | January 23, 2012, 3:51PM

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) urges the Senate to vote on the house-passed jobs bill during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. on October 27, 2011.

At a briefing with a handful of reporters in his Capitol suite Monday afternoon, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor outlined the coming year on Capitol Hill -- one he said would be marked by increased oversight of the Obama administration; an ongoing debate between the parties about how best to grow the economy; and what he called a bipartisan effort to prevent automatic cuts to defense spending from kicking in at the end of the year.

But the two issues that have most divided the parties since President Obama took office -- the two most consequential pieces of the budget and the U.S. economy -- will most likely be decided by the election.

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House Republicans

'Our Members Are United': House GOP Brushes Off Tax Cut Defeat

Sahil Kapur | January 18, 2012, 11:55AM

John Boehner

House Republicans began 2012 by shaking off their defeat in last month's payroll tax cut standoff, conceding that the timing of their rebellion was less than ideal but insisting they're united for job creation and against President Obama in the new year.

"We've got a lot of disparate voices in our conference. The President wanted the payroll tax cut extended for a year, and so do we. We didn't think the Senate would leave, but it was pretty clear the Senate wasn't coming back," House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) told reporters Wednesday. "We were picking the right fight. But I would argue, we probably picked this at the wrong time."

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Recess appointments

Republicans Press House GOP Leaders To Pick Public Fight Over Obama Recess Appointments

Brian Beutler | January 11, 2012, 1:00PM

House Speaker John Boehner with House Majority Leader Eric Cantor in the foreground.

This post was updated at 1:21 p.m. to reflect comment from House GOP Leadership.

President Obama's recess appointment of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau director Richard Cordray could create another internal headache for Republican leaders in the House, many of whose members want to pick a public fight with Democrats over the controversy.

Scores of House Republicans have signed on to a non-binding resolution disapproving of Obama's four winter recess appointments -- Cordray, and three members of the National Labor Relations Board -- all fodder for conservatives, who are furious about the existence of these agencies, let alone the recess appointments themselves.

"It's astounding to me that the president is claiming these are recess appointments and within his authority, when Congress was not in fact in recess," said Rep. Diane Black (R-TN) who authored the resolution. "These appointments are an affront to the Constitution. No matter how you look at this, it doesn't pass the smell test. I hope the House considers my resolution as soon as we return to Washington so we can send a message to President Obama."

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