First posted on Instagram
Texas Republican August Pfluger has launched a bid for House Republican minority whip, challenging current Majority Whip Tom Emmer of Minnesota for the No. 2 job in the GOP conference when Democrats take control of the House in January.
Bloomberg Government reported on Wednesday that Pfluger, who chairs the conservative Republican Study Committee, plans to challenge Emmer, citing two people familiar with his candidacy. Punchbowl News likewise reported Pfluger running against Emmer for the whip post, and NBC News reported that Pfluger said he will challenge Emmer for the No. 2 leadership job in the minority.
Pfluger announced his bid in a Dear Colleague letter to House Republicans, in which he said it was time for the conference to regroup, recharge and fully unify after the midterm defeat.
The contest comes a day after Democrats seized the House in the November 3 midterm elections, and on the same day Speaker Mike Johnson told staff he will not seek the minority-leader post when the new Congress begins. House Republicans are scheduled to choose their next leadership team on November 10, with candidates facing a Friday deadline to declare.
Pfluger, just reelected in Texas' 11th Congressional District, is pitching affordability, government spending, immigration and healthcare reform: eliminating an estimated $1.6 trillion in waste and fraud, blocking undocumented immigrants from taxpayer-funded welfare, and measures to lower housing and healthcare costs.
He has also backed replacing Obamacare with Health Freedom Accounts, arguing Americans should have more control over how they purchase and pay for their healthcare.
Emmer still plans to run for whip as earlier announced, according to a person familiar with his thinking cited by Bloomberg Government, setting up a direct contest for the conference's second-ranking job as Republicans regroup in the minority and plan how to advance President Trump's agenda.