House Majority Whip - Definition

The Majority Whip is an elected member of the U.S. House of Representatives who assists the Speaker of the House and the Majority Leader to coordinate ideas on and garner support for proposed legislation. This position, unlike Speaker of the House, was not mandated by the Constitution. Instead, it emerged near the beginning of the 20th century.

See: Whip, Minority Whip of the United States House of Representatives

Majority Whips, 1897-present

• James A. Tawney (R-MN) 1897-1905
• James E. Watson (R-IN) 1905-1909
• John W. Dwight (R-NY) 1909-1911
• none 1911-1913
• Thomas M. Bell (D-GA) 1913-1915
• none 1915-1919
• Harold Knutson (R-MN) 1919-1923
• Albert H. Vestal (R-IN) 1923-1931
• John McDuffie (D-AL) 1931-1933
• Arthur H. Greenwood (D-AL) 1933-1935
• Patrick J. Boland (D-PA) 1935-1942
• Robert Ramspeck (D-GA) 1942-1945
• John J. Sparkman (D-AL) 1945-1947
• Leslie C. Arends (R-IL) 1947-1949
• J. Percy Priest (D-TN) 1949-1953
• Leslie C. Arends (R-IL) 1953-1955
• Carl Albert (D-OK) 1955-1961
• Thomas Hale Boggs (D-LA) 1961-1971
• Thomas P. O'Neill, Jr. (D-MA) 1971-1973
• John J. McFall (D-CA) 1973-1977
• John W. Brademas (D-IN) 1977-1981
• Thomas S. Foley (D-WA) 1981-1987
• Tony Coelho (D-CA) 1987-1989
• William H. Gray III (D-PA) 1989-1991
• David E. Bonior (D-MI) 1991-1995
• Tom DeLay (R-TX) 1995-2003
• Roy Blunt (R-MO) 2003-

Sources

• Democratic Whips (http://clerk.house.gov/histHigh/Congressional_History/dem_whips.html)
• Republican Whips (http://clerk.house.gov/histHigh/Congressional_History/rep_whips.html)