House Republican Conference

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.

House Republican Conference
Chairperson	Elise Stefanik (NY)
Part of	United States House of Representatives
House Speaker	Mike Johnson (LA)
Floor Leader	Steve Scalise (LA)
Floor Whip	Tom Emmer (MN)
Vice Chair	Blake Moore (UT)
Ideology	Conservatism
Political position	Center-right to right-wing
Affiliation	Republican Party
Colors	Red
Seats	220 / 435
Website
https://www.gop.gov
Politics of United States Political parties Elections

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 Elise Stefanik of New York, who assumed the position after a vote of the House Republican Conference on May 14, 2021.^[1][2] Former chairs include Gerald Ford, John Boehner, Mike Pence, John B. Anderson, Dick Cheney, Jack Kemp, J. C. Watts, Deborah D. Pryce, Adam Putnam, Jeb Hensarling, Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Liz Cheney, and Kevin McCarthy. As a result of the 2022 elections, the party holds a narrow majority in the House of Representatives in the 118th Congress, which was reduced from 222 to 221 after the expulsion of Republican George Santos on December 1, 2023. It was reduced additionally upon the resignation of Kevin McCarthy on December 31, 2023.

Current hierarchy

As of November 8, 2023, the conference leadership has been as follows:

• Mike Johnson (LA) as Speaker of the House (Conference leader)
• Steve Scalise (LA) as House Majority Leader
• Tom Emmer (MN) as House Majority Whip
• Elise Stefanik (NY) as Chair of the House Republican Conference
• Blake Moore (UT) as Vice Chair of the House Republican Conference
• Lisa McClain (MI) as Secretary of the House Republican Conference
• Gary Palmer (AL) as Chair of the House Republican Policy Committee
• Richard Hudson (NC) as Chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee
• Guy Reschenthaler (PA) as House Republican Chief Deputy Whip

Leaders of the House Republican Conference

Congress	Leader		District	Took office	Left office	House Speaker
36th		William Pennington (1796–1862)	New Jersey 5	February 1, 1860	March 3, 1861		Himself 1860–1861
37th		Galusha A. Grow (1823–1907)	Pennsylvania 14	July 4, 1861	March 4, 1863		Himself 1861–1863
38th		Schuyler Colfax (1823–1885)	Indiana 9	December 7, 1863	March 3, 1869[a]		Himself 1863–1869
39th
40th
40th		Theodore M. Pomeroy (1824–1905)	New York 24	March 3, 1869	March 4, 1869		Himself 1869
41st		James G. Blaine (1830–1893)	Maine 3	March 4, 1869	March 4, 1875		Himself 1869–1875
42nd
43rd
44th		George W. McCrary (1835–1890)	Iowa 1	March 4, 1875	March 3, 1877		Kerr 1875–1876
							Randall 1876–1881
45th		Eugene Hale (1836–1918)	Maine 5	March 4, 1877	March 4, 1879
46th		William P. Frye (1830–1911)	Maine 2	March 4, 1879	March 3, 1881
47th		J. Warren Keifer (1836–1932)	Ohio 8	December 5, 1881	March 4, 1883		Himself 1881–1883
48th		Joseph Gurney Cannon (1836–1926)	Illinois 15	March 4, 1883	March 3, 1889		Carlisle 1883–1889
49th
50th
51st		Thomas Brackett Reed (1839–1902)	Maine 1	December 4, 1889	March 3, 1891		Himself 1889–1891
52nd		Thomas J. Henderson (1824–1911)	Illinois 7	March 4, 1891	March 3, 1895		Crisp 1891–1895
53rd
54th		Thomas Brackett Reed (1839–1902)	Maine 1	December 2, 1895	March 4, 1899		Himself 1895–1899
55th
56th		David B. Henderson (1840–1906)	Iowa 3	December 4, 1899	March 4, 1903		Himself 1899–1903
57th
58th		Joseph Gurney Cannon (1836–1926)	Illinois 18	November 9, 1903	March 4, 1911		Himself 1903–1911
59th
60th
61st
62nd		James Robert Mann (1856–1922)	Illinois 2	March 4, 1911	March 3, 1919		Clark 1911–1919
63rd
64th
65th
66th		Frederick H. Gillett (1851–1935)	Massachusetts 2	May 19, 1919	March 3, 1925		Himself 1919–1925
67th
68th
69th		Nicholas Longworth (1869–1931)	Ohio 1	December 7, 1925	March 4, 1931		Himself 1925–1931
70th
71st
72nd		Bertrand Snell (1870–1958)	New York 31	March 4, 1931	January 3, 1939		Garner 1931–1933
73rd							Rainey 1933–1934
74th							Byrns 1935–1936
							Bankhead 1936–1940
75th
76th		Joseph W. Martin Jr. (1884–1968)	Massachusetts 14	January 3, 1939	January 3, 1959
							Rayburn 1940–1947
77th
78th
79th
80th							Himself 1947–1949
81st							Rayburn 1949–1953
82nd
83rd							Himself 1953–1955
84th							Rayburn 1955–1961
85th
86th		Charles A. Halleck (1900–1986)	Indiana 2	January 3, 1959	January 3, 1965
87th
							McCormack 1962–1971
88th
89th		Gerald Ford (1913–2006)	Michigan 5	January 3, 1965	December 6, 1973[a]
90th
91st
92nd							Albert 1971–1977
93rd
93rd		John Jacob Rhodes (1916–2003)	Arizona 1	December 7, 1973	January 3, 1981
94th
95th							O'Neill 1977–1987
96th
97th		Robert H. Michel (1923–2017)	Illinois 18	January 3, 1981	January 3, 1995
98th
99th
100th							Wright 1987–1989
101st
101st							Foley 1989–1995
102nd
103rd
104th		Newt Gingrich (born 1943)	Georgia 6	January 3, 1995	January 3, 1999[b]		Himself 1995–1999
105th
106th		Dennis Hastert (born 1942)	Illinois 14	January 6, 1999	January 3, 2007		Himself 1999–2007
107th
108th
109th
110th		John Boehner (born 1949)	Ohio 8	January 3, 2007	October 29, 2015[b]		Pelosi 2007–2011
111th
112th							Himself 2011–2015
113th
114th
114th		Paul Ryan (born 1970)	Wisconsin 1	October 29, 2015	January 3, 2019		Himself 2015–2019
115th
116th		Kevin McCarthy (born 1965)	California 23	January 3, 2019	October 3, 2023[c]		Pelosi 2019–2023
117th
118th			California 20				Himself 2023
	October 3, 2023	October 25, 2023		McHenry[d] 2023
	Mike Johnson (born 1972)	Louisiana 4	October 25, 2023	Incumbent		Himself 2023–present

Notes

1. Resigned to become Vice President of the United States.
2. Resigned from office and from Congress.
3. Kevin McCarthy was vacated as speaker on October 3, 2023, though McCarthy remained as House Republican Leader until the election of Mike Johnson on October 25.
4. This person served as speaker pro tempore.

Conference chairs

The conference chair is elected each Congress.^[3]

Chairman	State	Congress	Dates
Justin S. Morrill	VT	38th–39th	1863–1867
N/A		40th	1867–1869
Robert C. Schenck	OH	41st	1869–1871
Nathaniel P. Banks	MA
Austin Blair	MI	42nd	1871–1873
Horace Maynard	TN	43rd	1873–1875
George W. McCrary	IA	44th	1875–1877
Eugene Hale	ME	45th	1877–1879
William P. Frye	ME	46th	1879–1881
George M. Robeson	NJ	47th	1881–1883
Joseph G. Cannon	IL	48th–50th	1883–1889
Thomas J. Henderson	IL	51st–53rd	1889–1895
Charles H. Grosvenor	OH	54th–55th	1895–1899
Joseph G. Cannon	IL	56th–57th	1899–1903
William P. Hepburn	IA	58th–60th	1903–1909
Frank D. Currier	NH	61st–62nd	1909–1913
William S. Greene	MA	63rd–65th	1913–1919
Horace M. Towner	IA	66th–67th	1919–1923
Sydney Anderson	MN	68th	1923–1925
Willis C. Hawley	OR	69th–72nd	1925–1933
Robert Luce	MA	73rd	1933–1935
Frederick R. Lehlbach	NJ	74th	1935–1937
Roy Woodruff	MI	75th–81st	1937–1951
Clifford Hope	KS	82nd–84th	1951–1957
Charles B. Hoeven	IA	85th–87th	1957–1963
Gerald Ford	MI	88th	1963–1965
Melvin Laird	WI	89th–90th	1965–1969
John B. Anderson	IL	91st–95th	1969–1979
Samuel L. Devine	OH	96th	1979–1981
Jack Kemp	NY	97th–99th	1981–1987
Dick Cheney	WY	100th	1987–1989
Jerry Lewis	CA	101st–102nd	1989–1993
Dick Armey	TX	103rd	1993–1995
John Boehner	OH	104th–105th	1995–1999
J. C. Watts	OK	106th–107th	1999–2003
Deborah Pryce	OH	108th–109th	2003–2007
Adam Putnam	FL	110th	2007–2009
Mike Pence	IN	111th	2009–2011
Jeb Hensarling	TX	112th	2011–2013
Cathy McMorris Rodgers	WA	113th—115th	2013–2019
Liz Cheney	WY	116th—117th	2019–2021[a]
Elise Stefanik	NY	117th—118th	2021–present

1. Removal as conference chair

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]

• Robert Stafford of Vermont (1971)
• Samuel L. Devine of Ohio (1971–1979)
• Jack Edwards of Alabama (1979–1985)
• Lynn Morley Martin of Illinois (1985–1989)
• Bill McCollum of Florida (1989–1995)
• Susan Molinari of New York (1995–1997)
• Jennifer Dunn of Washington (1997–1999)
• Tillie Fowler of Florida (1999–2001)
• Deborah Pryce of Ohio (2001–2003)
• Jack Kingston of Georgia (2003–2007)
• Kay Granger of Texas (2007–2009)
• Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington (2009–2013)
• Lynn Jenkins of Kansas (2013–2017)
• Doug Collins of Georgia (2017–2019)
• Mark Walker of North Carolina (2019–2021)
• Mike Johnson of Louisiana (2021–2023)
• Blake Moore of Utah (2023-present)

Secretaries

List of successive secretaries of the House Republican Conference

Congress	Name	State	Term start	Term end
Position established
90th	Dick Poff	Virginia	January 3, 1967	August 29, 1972
91st
92nd
	Jack Edwards[5][6]	Alabama	August 29, 1972	January 3, 1979
93rd
94th
95th
96th	Clair Burgener	California	January 3, 1979	January 3, 1985
97th
98th
99th	Robert J. Lagomarsino		January 3, 1985	January 3, 1989
100th
101st	Vin Weber	Minnesota	January 3, 1989	January 3, 1993
102nd
103rd	Tom DeLay	Texas	January 3, 1993	January 3, 1995
104th	Barbara Vucanovich	Nevada	January 3, 1995	January 3, 1997
105th	Jennifer Dunn	Washington	January 3, 1997	July 17, 1997
	Tillie Fowler	Florida	July 17, 1997	January 3, 1999
106th	Deborah Pryce	Ohio	January 3, 1999	January 3, 2001
107th	Barbara Cubin	Wyoming	January 3, 2001	January 3, 2003
108th	John Doolittle	California	January 3, 2003	January 3, 2007
109th
110th	John Carter	Texas	January 3, 2007	January 3, 2013
111th
112th
113th	Virginia Foxx	North Carolina	January 3, 2013	January 3, 2017
114th
115th	Jason Smith	Missouri	January 3, 2017	January 3, 2021
116th
117th	Richard Hudson	North Carolina	January 3, 2021	January 3, 2023
118th	Lisa McClain	Michigan	January 3, 2023	present

See also

• House Democratic Caucus

References

1. Milman, Oliver (2021-05-14). "Trump loyalist Elise Stefanik wins Republican vote to replace Liz Cheney". The Guardian.
2. "Republican Conference Chairmen". US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
3. "Republican Conference Chairmen | US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives". history.house.gov. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
4. "House Leadership Structure: Overview of Party Organization" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 29, 2006.
5. "Anniston Star, Sep 12, 1972, p. 10 | NewspaperArchive®". newspaperarchive.comn. 1972-09-12. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
6. "Ford Press Releases, September - December 1972" (PDF). fordlibrarymuseum.gov. Retrieved 29 June 2023.

External links

• Republican Conference