Eric Cantor

In advance of the next potential budget showdown, a top GOP leader sought to tamp down discontent Wednesday among House Republicans over the fiscal 2012 spending levels agreed to under the debt deal with President Obama. Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.), the majority leader, told rank-and-file lawmakers “it is in our best interest” to accept the new levels, which do not cut as steeply as some conservative lawmakers wanted. Congress will be expected to approve spending bills for the coming fiscal year, which begins Oct.1, after lawmakers return from the August recess.

WASHINGTON - As the new Congress began this year, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia sought to redefine the Republican Party as focused on "making life work" for ordinary Americans. Surveys showed that the public had tired of the party of "no" as House Republicans fought President Obama. The party lost its opportunity to win the White House or take control of the Senate last fall, and saw its House majority shrink. Cantor's approach echoed the "compassionate conservatism" of an earlier Republican era. In a speech at the American Enterprise Institute, he said the House majority would "pursue an agenda based on a shared vision of creating the conditions for health, happiness and prosperity for more Americans and their families.

The House majority leader said Monday he would welcome a presidential run from Rep. Paul Ryan, the architect of the Republican plan to privatize Medicare, adding that he expects to see the GOP’s presidential contenders embrace the Ryan budget proposal as they seek the White House. “What Paul Ryan is about is real leadership,” said Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.), the majority leader. The Medicare privatization plan has become a political lightning rod for Republicans as polls have shown Americans are reluctant to make dramatic changes to the popular healthcare program for seniors.

WASHINGTON - The second-ranking Republican in the House, in a speech Tuesday intended to unveil a new strategy for the politically hobbled party, cast the GOP as an advocate for improving the lives of working Americans even as he reaffirmed its insistence on balancing the federal budget. The heavily promoted address by Majority Leader Eric Cantor marked the latest attempt by a Republican to reframe the party's postelection agenda. And it was the most significant to date by a leader of the institution Americans see as the epicenter of political dysfunction: Congress.

Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.), the House majority leader, said Thursday he was pulling out of deficit reduction talks, throwing into jeopardy the ability of the White House-led negotiations to strike a budget deal with congressional leaders by this summer's deadline. Cantor cited an impasse over the tax issue, and pressed President Obama to more forcefully lead the negotiations to a conclusion. "Democrats continue to insist that any deal must include tax increases," Cantor said in a statement.

Eric Cantor, the second-ranking Republican in the House, threw his support behind Mitt Romney just days before the marquee day of the GOP presidential nominating race -- Super Tuesday. The House majority leader and Virginia congressman said Romney was the party's best candidate on what is likely the central 2012 campaign issue: the economy. "Mitt Romney is the only candidate in the race who's put forward a bold, pro-growth, pro-jobs plan for the future," Cantor said in an interview on NBC's "Meet The Press" on Sunday.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor seems to be warming to one likely element of President Obama's job proposal. The Virginia Republican suggested Thursday, hours before Obama was due to outline the plan, that Republicans might be willing to accept an extension of the payroll tax cut. "It's not the best way to create incentives for a small business to create a job, but it does provide tax relief for people," Cantor told reporters at a lunch hosted...

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor on Monday tried to put fresh pressure on top Democrats to step up efforts to push Rep. Anthony Weiner out the door. The Virginia Republican repeated his call for Weiner’s resignation and added that Democratic leaders “should do everything they can to bring him to that point, if he’s not already.” Weiner said Saturday that he is taking a leave of absence from the House while he seeks treatment. The New York Democrat is in week No. 3 of a scandal that erupted after he was found to be sending explicit photos of his body parts to women he met through his Twitter account.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor is trying to walk back his criticism of the Occupy Wall Street protesters just days after the Virginia Republican characterized them as "mobs. " At a news conference with reporters on Tuesday, Cantor went for a more empathetic approach, saying he understood why there was unrest. “People are upset, and they are justifiably frustrated. They're out of work. The economy is not moving. Their sense of security for the future is not clear at all. People are afraid, and I get it,” he said.

President Obama described his relationship with House Majority Leader Eric Cantor as "cordial" on Thursday, one day after a testy exchange between the two ended a negotiating session on the debt ceiling. Even as Obama described the daily White House talks as "professional," he signaled his frustration with the lack of progress to CBS affiliate KYW, one of three local television interviews he did Thursday trying to make his case to the nation. "At a certain point, the American people run out of patience if they think that people are playing games and not serious in terms of solving problems," he said.

TAMPA, Fla. -- When Rep. Paul Ryan takes the stage at the Republican convention Wednesday night, his fellow "young guns" will be watching from the good seats. Ryan, Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia and Rep. Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield had once been seen as rivals to House Speaker John A. Boehner of Ohio -- a triumvirate of younger leaders who published a book together on their goals for the GOP. But on Wednesday evening they'll be sitting with Boehner in the speaker's box -- a picture of comity.

WASHINGTON - Rep. Paul D. Ryan has cultivated his "affable wonk" persona into an effective moneymaker, winning over CEOs and K Street lobbyists to build a fundraising machine that has boosted his standing on Capitol Hill and helped make him one of the GOP's most influential figures. In 2002, the Wisconsin congressman established a so-called leadership PAC, a fund that allows him to raise money to give to other lawmakers, but the fund did little until 2006, when he began his rapid rise in the House Republican hierarchy.

WASHINGTON -- At a closed door meeting with rank-and-file Republicans, House Speaker John A. Boehner reiterated his concerns the party could lose control of the House majority this fall, giving his troops file a sober reminder of the challenge ahead. "We've got a fight on our hands," Boehner said later Tuesday. Boehner has been tamping down expectations Republicans will retain their hold on the House, even as his No. 2, Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.), said last week he expects the GOP to pick up seats.

Eric Cantor, the second-ranking Republican in the House, threw his support behind Mitt Romney just days before the marquee day of the GOP presidential nominating race -- Super Tuesday. The House majority leader and Virginia congressman said Romney was the party's best candidate on what is likely the central 2012 campaign issue: the economy. "Mitt Romney is the only candidate in the race who's put forward a bold, pro-growth, pro-jobs plan for the future," Cantor said in an interview on NBC's "Meet The Press" on Sunday.

When all else fails, try breaking bread together. As the White House and congressional Republicans continue on a seemingly endless loop of political partisanship, Vice President Joe Biden has invited Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.), the House Majority Leader, to dinner this evening. The two seemed to hit it off earlier this year, an odd couple of sorts as they holed up in negotiations on a bipartisan deficit-reduction proposal. But Cantor abruptly bolted from those talks and it became clear compromise was not to be found.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor called for a “Steve Jobs plan” on Friday in an economic speech outlining the Virginia Republican's views on upward mobility and economic opportunity in the U.S. “In a Steve Jobs plan, no American -- regardless of their current condition -- believes that they are unable to rise up. And in a Steve Jobs plan, we don't believe that those who succeed somehow take away from those still working their way up the...

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor called for a “Steve Jobs plan” on Friday in an economic speech outlining the Virginia Republican's views on upward mobility and economic opportunity in the U.S. “In a Steve Jobs plan, no American -- regardless of their current condition -- believes that they are unable to rise up. And in a Steve Jobs plan, we don't believe that those who succeed somehow take away from those still working their way up the...

House Majority LeaderEric Cantor has canceled a speech at the University of Pennsylvania out of concern that protesters would fill the seats. Cantor was scheduled to speak on income inequity at a lecture hosted by the Wharton business school. The Virginia Republican's office said he called off the speech after learning that protesters planned to rally outside and attendance would not be limited to students and others affiliated with the school. “The Office of the Majority Leader was informed last night by Capitol Police that the University of Pennsylvania was unable to ensure that the attendance policy previously agreed to could be met,” said spokesman Brad Dayspring.

Even as presidential candidates and congressional committees leak word of their traditional fundraising efforts, Republican leaders Thursday announced formation of a new "super PAC" effort that can raise unlimited amounts from well-heeled donors to back GOP congressional campaigns. The new Congressional Leadership Fund announced its formation with an all-star board of directors and plans for a kickoff fundraiser Nov. 2 that is scheduled to include as "special guests" House Speaker John Boehner and the rest of the Republican congressional leadership team.