Eric Cantor

During his first term, Cantor was chairman of the Congressional Task Force on Terrorism and Unconventional Warfare. He has also served on the House Financial Services Committee and on the House International Relations Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee.

In 2002, weeks after winning a second term, Cantor was appointed by Republican Whip Roy Blunt to be Chief Deputy Republican Whip, the highest appointed position in the Republican caucus.[13]

Cantor and other House and Senate leaders meeting with President Barack Obama in November 2010.

On November 19, 2008, Cantor was unanimously elected Republican Whip for the 111th Congress, after serving as Deputy Whip for six years under Blunt. Blunt had decided not to seek reelection to the post after Republican losses in the previous two elections. Cantor was the first member of either party from Virginia to hold the position of Party Whip. As Whip, Cantor was the second-ranking House Republican, behind Minority Leader John Boehner. He was charged with coordinating the votes and messages of Republican House members.[1][13] Cantor became the Majority Leader when the 112th Congress took office on January 3, 2011.[14] In this position, he remained second-in-command to Boehner, who was considered the leader of the House Republicans.

Cantor was a member of the Republican Jewish Coalition and the Republican National Committee. He is one of the Republican Party's top fundraisers, having raised over $30 million for the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC).[15] He is also one of the three founding members of the GOP Young Guns Program. In the fall of 2010, Cantor wrote a New York Times bestselling book, Young Guns: A New Generation of Conservative Leaders, with the other two founding members of Young Guns.[16] They describe the vision outlined in the book as "a clear agenda based on common sense for the common good".[17] Cantor said in 2010 that he worked with the Tea Party movement in his district.[18]

As House Majority Leader, Cantor was named in House Resolution 368, which was passed by the House Rules Committee on the night of September 30, 2013, the night before the October 2013 government shutdown began, as the only member of the House with the power to bring forth bills and resolutions for a vote if both chambers of Congress disagree on that bill or resolution. Prior to the resolution's passing in committee, it was within the power of every member of the House under House Rule XXII, Clause 4 to be granted privilege to call for a vote. This amendment to the House rules was blamed for causing the partial government shutdown and for prolonging it since Cantor refused to allow the Senate's continuing resolution to be voted on in the House. Journalists and commentators noted during the shutdown that if the Senate's version of the continuing resolution were to be voted on, it would have passed the House with a majority vote since enough Democrats and Republicans supported it, effectively ending the government shutdown.[19][20][21]

Cantor was a strong supporter of the Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act, which he was the one to name in Gabriella Miller's honor.[22] The bill, which passed in both the House and the Senate, would end taxpayer contributions to the Presidential Election Campaign Fund and divert the money in that fund to pay for research into pediatric cancer through the National Institutes of Health.[22][23] The total funding for research would come to $126 million over 10 years.[22][23] As of 2014, the national conventions got about 23% of their funding from the Presidential Election Campaign Fund.[24] Cantor said that the bill "clearly reflects Congressional priorities in funding: medical research before political parties and conventions".[22]

Cantor opposed public funding of embryonic stem cell research and opposed elective abortion. He was rated 100% by the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) and 0% by NARAL Pro-Choice America, indicating an anti-abortion voting record. He was also opposed to same-sex marriage as of the mid-2000s, voting to Constitutionally define marriage as between a male and a female in 2006. In November 2007 he voted against prohibiting job discrimination based on sexual orientation. He also supported making flag burning illegal. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) rated him 19% in 2006, indicating an anti-affirmative action voting record. He was opposed to gun control, voting to ban product misuse lawsuits on gun manufacturers in 2005, and he voted not to require gun registration and trigger-lock laws in the District of Columbia. He had a rating of "A" from the National Rifle Association (NRA).[33] On November 2, 2010, Cantor told Wolf Blitzer of CNN that he would try to trim the federal deficit by reducing welfare.

Cantor was a supporter of free trade, voting to promote trade with Peru, Chile, Singapore, and Australia. He also voted for the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). He voted against raising the minimum wage to US$7.25 in 2007. The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL–CIO), the largest federation of trade unions in the United States, rates Cantor 0%, indicating an anti-Union voting record.

In October 2008, Cantor advocated and voted for the TARP program which aided distressed banks.[34]

On September 29, 2008 Cantor blamed Pelosi for what he felt was the failure of the $700 billion economic bailout bill.[35] He noted that 94 Democrats voted against the measure, as well as 133 Republicans. Though supporting the Federal bailout of the nation's largest private banks, he referred to Pelosi's proposal to appoint a Car czar to run the US Automobile Industry Bailout as a "bureaucratic" imposition on private business.[36]

The following February, Cantor led Republicans in the House of Representatives in voting against the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009[37] and was a prominent spokesman in voicing the many issues he and his fellow Republicans had with the legislation. Cantor voted in favor of a 90% marginal tax rate increase on taxpayer financed bonuses,[38] despite receiving campaign contributions from TARP recipient Citigroup.[39]

In his book Young Guns, Cantor summarized Keynesian economics with the following opinion, "The idea is that the government can be counted on to spend more wisely than the people."[40]

As Majority Leader, Cantor steered the STOCK Act through the House, which requires Congressmen to disclose their stock investments more regularly and in a more transparent manner.[41] The legislation passed the House in a 417–2 bipartisan vote on February 9, 2012. It was ultimately signed by President Obama on April 4, 2012.[42] In July 2012, CNN reported that changes made by the House version of the legislation excluded reporting requirements by spouses and dependent children. Initially, Cantor's office insisted it did nothing to change the intent of the STOCK Act; however, when presented with new information from CNN, the Majority Leader's office recognized that changes had unintentionally been made and offered technical corrections to fulfill the original intent of the legislation.[43] These corrections were passed by Congress on August 3, 2012.[44]

As Majority Leader, Cantor shepherded the JOBS Act through the House, which combined bipartisan ideas for economic growth – like crowdfunding for startups – into one piece of legislation. Ultimately, President Obama, Eric Cantor, Steve Case and other leaders joined together at the signing ceremony.[45]

Cantor proposed initiatives which he purported would help small businesses grow, including a 20 percent tax cut for businesses that employ fewer than 500 people.[46]

In an article he wrote for the National Review in 2007, he condemned Nancy Pelosi's diplomatic visit to Syria, and her subsequent meeting with President Bashar al-Assad, whom he referred to as a "dictator and terror-sponsor"; saying that if "Speaker Pelosi's diplomatic foray into Syria weren't so harmful to U.S. interests in the Middle East, it would have been laughable."[47]

In 2014, Cantor criticized what he referred to as "the isolationist sentiment" and said that it was a mistake to withdraw from Iraq and had called for troops to remain in Afghanistan.[48]

During the 2016 presidential election Cantor, a supporter of Israel,[49] called on Donald Trump to be more consistent with his support for Israel.[50]

Cantor was first elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in 1991, winning the race for the 73rd district seat unopposed. He was re-elected in 1993 with 79% of the vote. He won re-election in 1995, 1997, and 1999; in all three races he was unopposed.

Cantor was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2000, succeeding retiring 20-year incumbent Republican Tom Bliley. He defeated the Democratic nominee, Warren A. Stewart, by nearly 100,000 votes.[52] Cantor had won the closely contested Republican primary—the real contest in what was then one of the most Republican districts in Virginia—over state Senator Steve Martin by only 263 votes. During his first term, he was one of only two Jewish Republicans serving concurrently in the House of Representatives, the other being Benjamin A. Gilman of New York. Gilman retired in 2002 leaving Cantor as the only Jewish Republican House member.

In 2002, Cantor was opposed by Democrat Ben Jones, a former congressman from Georgia, who had played "Cooter Davenport" in the TV Series The Dukes of Hazzard.[53][54]

In 2004, Cantor was opposed by Independent W. B. Blanton. Cantor won with 75.5% of the vote. In 2006, Cantor was opposed by Democrat James M. Nachman and Independent W. B. Blanton. Cantor won with 64% to Nachman's 34% and Blanton's 2%.

In August 2008, news reports surfaced that Cantor was being considered as John McCain's Vice Presidential running mate, with McCain's representatives seeking documents from Cantor as part of its vetting process.[55][56][57] The idea for Cantor to be McCain's running mate was supported by conservative leaders like Richard Land and Erick Erickson.[58][59] Cantor was not selected for the vice presidential nomination, and in his 2008 re-election campaign, Cantor defeated Democratic challenger Anita Hartke 63%–37%.

In 2010, Cantor was re-elected with 59% of the vote.[60]

In 2012, Cantor faced a primary challenger, Floyd C. Bayne, in the June 12 Republican primary; Cantor won the primary with 79% of the vote[61] and then defeated Democratic challenger Wayne Powell in the general election. Although he won with 58% of the vote, Cantor received his lowest vote percentage since being elected to Congress in 2000.

On June 10, 2014, in a major upset, Cantor lost the Republican primary 44.5%–55.5% to Dave Brat, a Tea Party candidate and a professor at Randolph-Macon College. That made Cantor the first sitting House majority leader to lose a primary since the position was created in 1899.[62][63][64][65] Internal campaign polls before the primary showed Cantor 30 points ahead of Brat,[66] and he outspent Brat 40 to 1.[67]

Cantor's loss in the primary was described by the Los Angeles Times as "one of the greatest political upsets of modern times."[66] His loss was attributed to numerous factors including a moderating of his views after entering House leadership, being disconnected from his district, a lack of enthusiasm among his supporters, low turnout for the primary election, and support of Brat from radio talk show hosts.[68]

Although the national media were shocked at Brat's victory, Richmond-area media outlets had received signs well before the primary that Cantor was in trouble.[69] The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported two weeks before the primary that a number of Cantor's constituents felt he took them for granted. The Times-Dispatch also revealed that Cantor's attempt to brand Brat as a liberal professor actually made more people turn out for Brat.[70] The Chesterfield Observer, a local paper serving Chesterfield County—roughly half of which is in the 7th—reported that Tea-Party-aligned candidates had won several victories there, and at least one Cantor loyalist believed Tea Party supporters smelled "blood in the water."[71] One local reporter told David Carr of The New York Times that many constituents believed Cantor was arrogant and unapproachable. However, due to massive cutbacks, the race was severely under-polled by local media. Few Capitol Hill reporters were willing to go to Cantor's district, for fear that they would be out of Washington in case a major story broke.[69]

Following his primary defeat, Cantor announced his resignation as House Majority Leader effective on July 31, 2014, and declared that he would not campaign for the general election. In an interview with the Richmond Times-Dispatch on July 31, 2014, Cantor announced his resignation from Congress effective on August 18, 2014, and said that he had asked Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe to call for a special election on November 4, 2014 to coincide with the 2014 general election.[72][73][74]

On Tuesday, September 2, 2014, advisory firm Moelis & Company announced that it was appointing Eric Cantor as vice chairman and managing director and that he would be elected to the Moelis & Company board of directors.[75]