In the 111th Congress, Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California will serve her second consecutive term as Speaker of the House. Pelosi, the first woman speaker, was elected in November 2008 to her 11th full-term in Congress.
For more, read Profile of Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House. Also read U.S. House Committee Chairs for 111th Congress, 2009 to 2011.
The remainder of the House Majority Leadership Team in the 111th Congress, in office from January 2009 to January 2011, will be:
- Majority Leader, Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland
Hoyer, who has represented Maryland's fifth district for more than 25 years, was first elected House Majority Leader in the 110th Congress over the more liberal Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania, who was supported by Speaker Pelosi.
Hoyer is more moderate than Pelosi on many issues, including fiscal and national security matters, which occasionally leads to disagreement between these two top House Democractic leaders.
Pledged Hoyer upon his reelection, "Democrats in Congress will reach across the aisle, across chambers and down Pennsylvania Avenue to work together on the people’s agenda – to bring change to our great nation."
- Majority Whip, Rep. James E. Clyburn of South Carolina
Clyburn is the highest-ranking African-American in Congress, and the most powerful Democrat in his home state of South Carolina. In 1998, Clyburn was unanimously elected Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, and won a coveted seat on the powerful Appropriations Committee. In 2002, he ascended to Vice Chair of the House Democratic Caucus, and to Democratic Caucus Chair in 2006.
The son of a politically active African-American preacher in South Carolina, James was elected president of the local NAACP youth chapter when he was only 12 years old.
As a 1960s leader of the infamous Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee at South Carolina State College, Clyburn was jailed several times, including at the famed 1961 march on the South Carolina State Capitol.
For more, read Profile of Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina.
About his reelection, Clyburn commented, "I am honored to receive the continued support of my Democratic Colleagues.
"Our nation faces great challenges ahead and I look forward to working with President Obama, and leaders in the House and Senate to put our country back on track and bring positive change to the American people."
- Chair, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Rep. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland
Also appointed by Pelosi to be Assistant to the Speaker in the 111th Congress focusing on policy issues and incumbent retention, Hollen was reelected in 2008 to his 4th term as representative of Maryland's 8th district, an affluent area that borders Washington D.C.
In 2003, Van Hollen was named Outstanding New Member of the Year by the Committee for Education Funding, the nation's largest anon-partisan education coalition. Hollen thus far has introduced a bill in each Congressional session to fully fund the No Child Left Behind Act.
Hollen was first elected in the 110th Congress to be chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
Said Speaker Pelosi when announcing expansion of Van Hollen's responsibilites for 2009 to 2011, "Chris Van Hollen is a first-rate thinker and political strategist who knows the policy, politics, and people that are essential to House Leadership successfully developing and executing our agenda for change with the Caucus and the incoming Obama Administration."
- Democratic Caucus Chairman, Rep. John B. Larson of CT
Rep. Larson will replaced Rahm Emanuel, who served as Democratic Caucus Chairman for the 110th Congress. Emanuel resigned his seat to become President Barack Obama's Chief of Staff.
- Democratic Caucus Vice Chairman, Rep. Xavier Becerra of CA
Rep. Becerra won election by a wide margin, 175 to 67, over incumbent Rep. Marcy Kaptur of Ohio, an outspoken critic of all free trade agreements. Becerra opposed the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), but voted for free trade with Peru.
