Central Minnesota Congressman Elected As The Majority Whip, & What That Means

Representative Tom Emmer, who represents the 6th Congressional District in Minnesota, was recently elected as the Majority Whip for the 118th Congress. In a statement posted to his congressional webpage, Rep. Emmer stated that it was "an honor". But what does the Majority Whip do?

It is an honor to be entrusted by my colleagues with the role of Majority Whip. Now the hard work begins. It’s time to unite our conference and deliver on our promises to the American people. - Representative Tom Emmer (R)

It's great to hear of a Minnesotan being elected to a Congressional position, but what does the Majority Whip do?

According to Senate.gov:

"The term 'whip' comes from a fox-hunting expression—"whipper-in"—referring to the member of the hunting team responsible for keeping the dogs from straying from the team during a chase. Traditionally serving as assistant leaders, whips are mainly responsible for counting heads and rounding up party members for votes and quorum calls, and they occasionally stand in for the majority or minority leaders in their absence." - Senate.gov

So Representative Emmer's new role will have him counting the votes for his party, and rallying support for Republican initiatives in the House of Representatives over the next Congressional session.

Representative Emmer is taking over the position that was held by Representative Steve Scalise.

The Whip's role was one that was also featured on the Netflix show, House of Cards, during the first few seasons.

You can learn more about the role of a Whip in congress by heading here.