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Chris Frates On Power, People And Influence From Capitol Hill To K Street

Meet Steve Scalise, the New Face of House Conservatives

By Ben Terris // November 15, 2012 | 2:43 p.m.
Updated: November 15, 2012 | 3:04 p.m.

Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana is the new face of the conservative movement in the House of Representatives. At least according to the Republican Study Committee, a caucus representing the right wing of the party.

The RSC elected Scalise to be their new chairman Thursday, taking over from Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio. Scalise beat Rep. Tom Graves of Georgia for the position, despite the fact that the committee’s founders and past chairmen came out in support of Graves.

“From the beginning I felt like this ought to be a member-driven organization and the members should decide who’s the next chairman,” Scalise told the Alley.

Scalise said that Graves ran a great campaign for the position and that the major differences between the two of them was not in policy but in leadership style.

“The American people chose the Republican House to serve as the only line of defense against Barack Obama’s liberal agenda, and the RSC must stand tall as the conservative rudder, steering the House towards more conservative solutions as we work to get our country back on the right track,” he said in a statement.