FILE – House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy speaks as House Speaker John Boehner (C) and current Majority Leader Eric Cantor look on during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington.
VOA News – Republican lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives have elected an eight-year California congressman as their new majority leader.
Congressman Kevin McCarthy won the internal party election Thursday. As majority leader, the 49-year-old McCarthy becomes the No. 2 Republican in the Republican-controlled House, behind House Speaker John Boehner.
After McCarthy’s election, Republicans chose Louisiana Representative Steve Scalise to replace him as majority whip. The whip is the No. 3 Republican leader in the House of Representatives and helps round up votes for key legislation supported by party leaders.
Congressional party leaders in the U.S. are usually picked at the beginning of two-year sessions, but McCarthy will start his new role in August. The current Republican majority leader, Eric Cantor, is resigning from the position at the end of July after being defeated for re-election from his congressional district last week in a party primary in the mid-Atlantic state of Virginia.
