When Democrats flipped more than three dozen house seats on election day house majority whip Steve Scalise says he wasn’t surprised.
“The first midterm at any new president on average they lose a bet 30 seats. We had a 23 seat majority so we knew that history was working against us.”
The result will be a change in title for Scalise. The Jefferson Parish Republican will become House Minority Whip. As Democrats lead the body for the first time in 8 years.
“The role of minority whip will be a lot different than majority with the biggest difference is that we don’t control the day-to-day agenda of the house.”
That control of presiding over floor debates and appointing committee members will belong to whichever “Democrat* becomes Speaker of the House.
Scalise says while former Speaker Nancy Pelosi seems a favorite opposition from more than a dozen democrats could pose an inner-party battle.
“They ran really on a platform against the President, but where is their direction in terms of what they want to do with the economy?’
But he says the GOP must also do batter craft at its message. To represent a party not just of President Trump, but of conservative policy.
“We need to do a better job of telling people what it is we stand for, and how our conservative policies will help make hard-working families’ lives even better.”
“We’ve got a great economy right now, and it’s because of very specific reasons, because we cut taxes and got regulations under control.”
A battle Scalise says will stay relevant in two years when Republicans bid to reclaim the house.
“We’re going to be fighting not just to advance our cause but also to not lose any ground.”