Eric Cantor says goodbye as House majority leader

Catalina Camia, USA TODAY 1:02 p.m. EDT July 31, 2014


(Photo: J. Scott Applewhite, AP)

WASHINGTON — Majority Leader Eric Cantor gave his farewell address Thursday as the No. 2 most-powerful Republican on the House side of Capitol Hill.

In remarks filled with gratitude and touches of humility, the Republican who was shockingly turned out of office by Virginia voters in a June 10 primary thanked his colleagues and staff. He also sent good wishes to Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California, his close friend, who inherits a big to-do list when Congress returns from its August recess.


"This is a privilege of a lifetime," Cantor said, as his speech was interrupted by applause. He was honored with a standing ovation by Republicans and Democrats at the end.


Cantor, who became majority leader in 2011, will go back to being a rank-and-file House member. He lost renomination to economics professor Dave Brat, a Tea Party supporter, in the Richmond-based district he has first elected to in 2000.

Cantor reflected on how the grandson of immigrants who fled religious persecution in Europe came to represent what was once part of James Madison's House seat. He repeated his call for overhauling education policy, calling the fight for better schools the "civil rights issue of our time," and talked about the need for America to restore its leadership abroad.

He thanked his staff, Capitol police, his colleagues, and friends such as McCarthy and House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan. Cantor also paid tribute to Speaker John Boehner, with whom he was sometimes at odds as they led the House. Boehner, presiding over the chamber for Cantor's farewell, chocked back tears as the Virginia lawmaker spoke.


"Thank you for the example of firm leadership," Cantor said, "and at the same time for not being afraid to show your kind heart and your soft spot from time to time."


The new GOP leadership team headed by McCarthy will be faced with big challenges and time when lawmakers return after Labor Day. There will be only 12 days remaining on the House's legislative schedule when lawmakers return, and it is shaping up to be a combative agenda.


Congress is on track to leave Capitol Hill on Friday without resolving a dispute over an emergency spending bill to stem the flow of undocumented minors along the southwest U.S. border.


A divided House and Senate must also come to terms on a stop-gap funding bill to keep the government running after Sept. 30. The two chambers are also embroiled in a debate over how and whether to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank, which has divided the Republican Party's traditional allies in the business community and a new crop of conservatives who see the entity as an affront to the free market.

Contributing: Susan Davis

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