By Brandon Moseley
Alabama Political Reporter
House Majority leader Eric Cantor (R) from Virginia was a vocal proponent of a controversial immigration reform plan passed by the Senate and supported by powerful corporate interests led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. While increasing legal immigration is popular with big money corporate bosses eager for cheap labor, the policy was not as popular with Republican Primary voters in Cantor’s Virginia Congressional District. The Majority Leader’s humiliating defeat by college professor David Brat on June 10 necessitated an unexpected change in the House leadership.
On Thursday, June 19 Congressman Bradley Byrne (R) from Montrose congratulated Majority Leader-elect Kevin McCarthy (R) from California and Majority Whip-elect Steve Scalise (R) from Louisiana on their election to leadership positions in the United States House of Representatives.
Representative Byrne said that both Leader-elect McCarthy and Majority Whip-elect Scalise have spent time in Alabama’s First Congressional District this year. Leader-elect McCarthy joined Congressman Byrne in April for a tour of the Austal USA shipyard. Congressman Byrne took Majority Whip-elect Scalise Red Snapper fishing to highlight how the federally mandated 9-day Red Snapper season negatively impacts Alabama’s coastal communities.
Rep. Byrne said, “Congratulations to both Kevin McCarthy and Steve Scalise on their elections today. I believe this process was an important opportunity to have a healthy conversation about the direction of our Republican majority. I thought we had a great selection of candidates including Raul Labrador, Peter Roskam, and Marlin Stutzman, and I valued the opportunity to get to know them better throughout this process.”
Rep. Byrne said, “I am particularly pleased to have recently hosted both Leader-elect McCarthy and Majority Whip-elect Scalise in Southwest Alabama to highlight two of our area’s top priorities: the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) and Red Snapper season. I look forward to continuing to work with them and all of my colleagues in the House on these and other important priorities. It is more important now than ever that we put this leadership election behind us and unite together to advance a commonsense agenda that promotes job growth and combats the overreach of the Obama administration.”
Scalise and McCarthy will step up into their new roles effective July 31 after current Majority Leader Eric Cantor formally steps down from his position effective July 31. Majority Leader-elect McCarthy and Majority Whip-elect Scalise will officially assume their new positions on August 1.
The new House leaders were selected during a meeting of the House Republican Conference on Thursday afternoon.
Congressman Bradley Byrne represents Alabama’s First Congressional District. Representative Byrne is seeking a second term (his first full length term) in November.
Hash Tags: Congress, Majority Leader, Republicans-elect McCarthy and Majority Whip-elect Scalise will officially assume their new positions on August 1.
