House Republicans elected a new number two for their Congressional party leadership after Virginia Republican voter defeated pro-life Rep. Eric Cantor in his primary election earlier this month.
Republicans picked Kevin McCarthy to serve as the next majority leader, promoting the California Republican to the number two spot behind pro-life House Speaker John Boehner.
McCarthy faced Rep. Raul Labrador, who also has a pro-life record on abortion.
LifeNews has heard from a number of key pro-life activists on Capital Hill and the summary opinion of McCarhty is that he is pro-life but not as zealously so as Cantor was. On 26 votes on pro-life issues during his tenure, McCarthy has a 100% pro-life voting record. He has voted to ban abortions, to stop taxpayer funding of abortion and voted against Obamacare and for its repeal and de-funding.
Following the vote on Majority Leader, House Republicans elected Pro-life Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana as the next House Majority Whip. He had strong support from pro-life advocates.
Benjamin Clapper, Executive Director of Louisiana Right to Life, told LifeNews: “Louisiana Right to Life strongly supports Congressman Scalise in his effort to become House Majority Whip because he is an effective pro-life leader that will be instrumental in moving the pro-life cause forward in Congress. Congressman Scalise has a 100% pro-life voting record with National Right to Life and is a true advocate for unborn children.”
The Daily Caller has more details:
During a closed-door meeting Thursday afternoon in the Longworth House Office Building, GOP lawmakers chose McCarthy, currently the body’s chief whip, over Idaho Rep. Raúl Labrador.
The process took more than an hour: inside the Ways and Means hearing room, lawmakers gave speeches before voting by secret ballot. The votes were then hand counted before an aide announced the results to the press waiting outside in the hallway.
After his surprise loss in last Tuesday’s Republican primary in Virginia, Cantor announced he would step down as majority leader in July, though will serve out the rest of his congressional term.
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Though McCarthy won the contest Thursday, he and the other members of the Republican leadership will have to run for their positions again after the midterm elections this year.
