Washington, D.C. – Congressman G. K. Butterfield has been reappointed to a key House Democratic leadership post for the upcoming 112th Congress. 

 

House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) has announced that Butterfield will continue as a member of the Democratic Whip team during the 112th Congress.

 

Butterfield will serve as a chief deputy whip alongside U.S. Reps. John Lewis (D-Ga.), Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.), Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), Jim Matheson (D-Utah), Ed Pastor (D-Ariz.), Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), and Maxine Waters (D-Calif.). Hoyer has been elected to serve as the Minority Whip in the upcoming session of Congress.

 

The chief deputy whips help formulate policy and are responsible for working to unify the party’s positions. The whips are also responsible for mobilizing the party vote on important legislation before they come to the floor to be voted on. 

 

“It’s always important to have a seat at the leadership table,” Butterfield said. “It ensures a voice for the challenges facing people in eastern North Carolina.” 

 

Butterfield explained that the term “whip” is derived from “whipper in,” a British term for the person who was responsible for keeping the foxhounds from leaving the pack during the hunt. 

 

The Republican Party first used the position in 1897 when Speaker Thomas Reed appointed U.S. Rep. James A. Tawney (R-Minn.) as whip to help keep track of party members. The first Democratic Whip was appointed in 1901, and an official whip organization was first extensively used in the 1930s.

 

Butterfield was first appointed as a chief deputy whip in January 2007 at the start of 110th Congress. He was the first Democrat from North Carolina to hold the post.