Republican Congressman Steve Scalise of Jefferson is the new House Whip.
He won the post in an election yesterday, when Kevin McCarthy — his California colleague — was selected as the new House Majority Leader.
The 48-year-old Scalise has been in the House since 2008, and is considered a conservative leader.
He said on his website that he will be the 27th Majority Whip and the first Republican Majority Whip from Louisiana in the history of the House of Representatives.
Scalise has served as Chairman of the 176-member conservative House Republican Study Committee since 2012.
He takes the number three leadership post in the aftermath of former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s defeat last week in a primary.
Scalise defeated congressmen from Illinois and Indiana. He campaigned on his conservative record, and noted that he’d be the only Republican leader from the South — which is the heart of the GOP’s strength in the House.
