House Republican Conference Explained

House Republican Conference
Leader1 Title:Part of
Leader1 Name:United States House of Representatives
Leader2 Title:House Speaker
Leader2 Name:Mike Johnson (LAโ€“4)
Leader3 Title:Floor Leader
Leader3 Name:Steve Scalise (LAโ€“1)
Leader4 Title:Floor Whip
Leader4 Name:Tom Emmer (MNโ€“6)
Leader5 Title:Chair
Leader5 Name:Lisa McClain (MIโ€“9)
Ideology:Right-wing populism
Conservatism
Affiliation1 Title:Affiliation
Affiliation1:Republican Party
Seats1 Title:Seats
Colors: Red
Position:Right-wing
Country:the United States

The House Republican Conference is the party caucus for Republicans in the United States House of Representatives. It hosts meetings, and is the primary forum for communicating the party's message to members. The conference produces a daily publication of political analysis under the title Legislative Digest.

When the conference holds the majority of seats, it is usually led by the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives who is assisted on the floor by the House majority leader and the party's chief whip. When in the minority, it is led by the House minority leader, assisted by the chief whip. The conference has a chair who directs day-to-day operations and who is assisted by an elected vice chair and a secretary.

In the 118th Congress, the conference is led by Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana, assisted by Majority Leader Steve Scalise (also of Louisiana), and Majority Whip Tom Emmer. The current chair is Lisa McClain of Michigan, who assumed the position in 2024.[1] [2] Former chairs include Gerald Ford, John Boehner, Mike Pence, John Bayard Anderson, Dick Cheney, Jack Kemp, Liz Cheney, Kevin McCarthy and Elise Stefanik. As a result of the 2024 elections, the party holds a narrow majority in the House of Representatives in the 119th Congress.

Current hierarchy

As of January 3, 2024, the conference leadership has been as follows:

Leaders of the House Republican Conference

CongressLeaderDistrictTook officeLeft officeHouse Speaker
36thWilliam Pennington
New Jersey 5 Himself
37thGalusha A. Grow
Pennsylvania 14 Himself
38thSchuyler Colfax
Indiana 9 Himself
39th
40th
40thTheodore M. Pomeroy
New York 24 Himself
41stJames G. Blaine
Maine 3 Himself
42nd
43rd
44thGeorge W. McCrary
Iowa 1 
 
45thEugene Hale
Maine 5
46thWilliam P. Frye
Maine 2
47thJ. Warren Keifer
Ohio 8 Himself
48thJoseph Gurney Cannon
Illinois 15 
49th
50th
51stThomas Brackett Reed
Maine 1 Himself
52ndThomas J. Henderson
Illinois 7 
53rd
54thThomas Brackett Reed
Maine 1 Himself
55th
56thDavid B. Henderson
Iowa 3 Himself
57th
58thJoseph Gurney Cannon
Illinois 18 Himself
59th
60th
61st
62ndJames Robert Mann
Illinois 2 
63rd
64th
65th
66thFrederick H. Gillett
Massachusetts 2 Himself
67th
68th
69thNicholas Longworth
Ohio 1 Himself
70th
71st
72ndBertrand Snell
New York 31 
73rd 
74th 
 
75th
76thJoseph W. Martin Jr.
Massachusetts 14
 
77th
78th
79th
80th Himself
81st 
82nd
83rd Himself
84th 
85th
86thCharles A. Halleck
Indiana 2
87th
 
88th
89thGerald Ford
Michigan 5
90th
91st
92nd 
93rd
93rdJohn Jacob Rhodes
Arizona 1
94th
95th 
96th
97thRobert H. Michel
Illinois 18
98th
99th
100th 
101st
 
102nd
103rd
104thNewt Gingrich
Georgia 6 Himself
105th
106thDennis Hastert
Illinois 14 Himself
107th
108th
109th
110thJohn Boehner
Ohio 8 
111th
112th Himself
113th
114th
114thPaul Ryan
Wisconsin 1 Himself
115th
116thKevin McCarthy
California 23 
117th
118thCalifornia 20 Himself
118thVacant 
118thMike Johnson
Louisiana 4Incumbent Himself
119th

Notes

Conference chairs

The conference chair is elected each Congress.[3]

ChairmanStateCongressDates
Justin S. MorrillVT38thโ€“39th1863โ€“1867
N/A40th1867โ€“1869
Robert C. SchenckOH41st1869โ€“1871
Nathaniel P. BanksMA
Austin BlairMI42nd1871โ€“1873
Horace MaynardTN43rd1873โ€“1875
George W. McCraryIA44th1875โ€“1877
Eugene HaleME45th1877โ€“1879
William P. FryeME46th1879โ€“1881
George M. RobesonNJ47th1881โ€“1883
Joseph G. CannonIL48thโ€“50th1883โ€“1889
Thomas J. HendersonIL51stโ€“53rd1889โ€“1895
Charles H. GrosvenorOH54thโ€“55th1895โ€“1899
Joseph G. CannonIL56thโ€“57th1899โ€“1903
William P. HepburnIA58thโ€“60th1903โ€“1909
Frank D. CurrierNH61stโ€“62nd1909โ€“1913
William S. GreeneMA63rdโ€“65th1913โ€“1919
Horace M. TownerIA66thโ€“67th1919โ€“1923
Sydney AndersonMN68th1923โ€“1925
Willis C. HawleyOR69thโ€“72nd1925โ€“1933
Robert LuceMA73rd1933โ€“1935
Frederick R. LehlbachNJ74th1935โ€“1937
Roy WoodruffMI75thโ€“81st1937โ€“1951
Clifford HopeKS82ndโ€“84th1951โ€“1957
Charles B. HoevenIA85thโ€“87th1957โ€“1963
Gerald FordMI88th1963โ€“1965
Melvin LairdWI89thโ€“90th1965โ€“1969
John B. AndersonIL91stโ€“95th1969โ€“1979
Samuel L. DevineOH96th1979โ€“1981
Jack KempNY97thโ€“99th1981โ€“1987
Dick CheneyWY100th1987โ€“1989
Jerry LewisCA101stโ€“102nd1989โ€“1993
Dick ArmeyTX103rd1993โ€“1995
John BoehnerOH104thโ€“105th1995โ€“1999
J. C. WattsOK106thโ€“107th1999โ€“2003
Deborah PryceOH108thโ€“109th2003โ€“2007
Adam PutnamFL110th2007โ€“2009
Mike PenceIN111th2009โ€“2011
Jeb HensarlingTX112th2011โ€“2013
Cathy McMorris RodgersWA113thโ€”115th2013โ€“2019
Liz CheneyWY116thโ€”117th2019โ€“2021
Elise StefanikNY117thโ€”118th2021โ€“2025
Lisa McClainMI119th2025โ€“present

Vice chairs

The vice chair is next in rank after the House Republican Conference Chair. Like the chair, the vice chair is elected by a vote of all Republican House members before each Congress. Among other duties, the vice chair has a seat on both the Steering and Policy Committees.[4]

Secretaries

List of successive secretaries of the House Republican Conference!Congress!Name!State!Term start!Term end
Position established
90thVirginiaJanuary 3, 1967August 29, 1972
91st
92nd
Jack Edwards[5] [6] AlabamaAugust 29, 1972January 3, 1979
93rd
94th
95th
96thClair BurgenerCaliforniaJanuary 3, 1979January 3, 1985
97th
98th
99thJanuary 3, 1985January 3, 1989
100th
101stMinnesotaJanuary 3, 1989January 3, 1993
102nd
103rdTom DeLayTexasJanuary 3, 1993January 3, 1995
Barbara VucanovichNevadaJanuary 3, 1995January 3, 1997
Jennifer DunnWashingtonJanuary 3, 1997July 17, 1997
FloridaJuly 17, 1997January 3, 1999
106thOhioJanuary 3, 1999January 3, 2001
107thBarbara CubinWyomingJanuary 3, 2001January 3, 2003
108thJohn DoolittleCaliforniaJanuary 3, 2003January 3, 2007
109th
110thTexasJanuary 3, 2007January 3, 2013
111th
112th
113thVirginia FoxxNorth CarolinaJanuary 3, 2013January 3, 2017
114th
115thJason SmithMissouriJanuary 3, 2017January 3, 2021
116th
117thRichard HudsonNorth CarolinaJanuary 3, 2021January 3, 2023
118thLisa McClainMichiganJanuary 3, 2023January 3, 2025
119thErin HouchinIndianaJanuary 3, 2025Present

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Milman. Oliver. 2021-05-14. Trump loyalist Elise Stefanik wins Republican vote to replace Liz Cheney. en-GB. The Guardian.
  2. Web site: Republican Conference Chairmen . US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives . 7 January 2019 . en.
  3. Web site: Republican Conference Chairmen US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives. 2021-02-04. history.house.gov. en.
  4. Web site: House Leadership Structure: Overview of Party Organization. dead. PDF. https://web.archive.org/web/20061129223815/http://www.rules.house.gov/archives/RS20930.pdf. November 29, 2006.
  5. Web site: 1972-09-12. Anniston Star, Sep 12, 1972, p. 10 NewspaperArchiveยฎ. 2021-02-04. newspaperarchive.comn.
  6. Web site: Ford Press Releases, September - December 1972. fordlibrarymuseum.gov. 29 June 2023.