Hoyer to head new leadership arm for House Democrats

Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) was selected to head a new leadership arm for House Democrats on Monday, giving the congressman an elevated position in the caucus after he stepped down from his top post at the end of the last Congress.

Hoyer — who previously served as majority leader — will chair the Regional Leadership Council, a new group that Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.) unveiled on Monday. Twelve members — not including Hoyer — will sit on the panel, each of whom hail from a different region in the Democratic caucus.

The purpose of the group, according to Jeffries, will be to help implement legislation the Biden White House — and House Democratic Caucus — enacted in the previous two years, including the $1 trillion infrastructure bill, the bipartisan gun safety bill, the CHIPS and Science Act and the Inflation Reduction Act.

“The Regional Leadership Council will guide our partnership with the Biden administration as we implement historic legislation signed into law during the previous Congress,” Jeffries wrote in a statement.

“The Regional Leadership Council will focus like a laser beam on executing President Biden’s vision of investing in America,” he added.

The other members of the council include Democratic Reps. Tony Cárdenas (Calif.), Jared Huffman (Calif.), Angie Craig (Minn.), Robin Kelly (Ill.), Derek Kilmer (Wash.), Lizzie Fletcher (Texas), Troy Carter (La.), Darren Soto (Fla.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (Del.), Madeleine Dean (Pa.), Grace Meng (N.Y.) and Lori Trahan (Mass.).

Jeffries’s selection of Hoyer for the role comes roughly two months after the Maryland Democrat announced that he would not seek a leadership position in the 118th Congress, putting an end to his decades-long tenure at the top echelons of the caucus.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) also stepped back from leadership.

Hoyer on Monday said the new council will “build off” the progress made in the previous two years.

“It will foster greater cooperation between the Biden-Harris Administration and House Democrats as we convey our crucial agenda, implement this landmark legislation and show the public how Democrats continue to deliver results For the People,” he added.