A whip

Whip (politics)

A whip is an official in a political party whose primary purpose is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. Whips are a party's "enforcers", who typically offer inducements and threaten punishments for party members to ensure that they vote according to the official party policy...

in the United States House of Representatives

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 manages his party's legislative program on the House floor. The Whip keeps track of all legislation and ensures that all party members are present when important measures are to be voted upon.

Current role

The Majority Whip is an elected member of the majority party

Political party

A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...

 who assists the Speaker of the House

Speaker of the United States House of Representatives

The Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, or Speaker of the House, is the presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives...

 and the Majority Leader to coordinate ideas on, and garner support for, proposed legislation

Legislation

Legislation is law which has been promulgated by a legislature or other governing body, or the process of making it...

. This position, unlike Speaker of the House, is not mandated by the Constitution

United States Constitution

The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...

.

The Minority Whip is a member of the minority party

Political party

A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...

 who assists the Minority Leader

Minority leader of the United States House of Representatives

The House Minority Leader is one of the party leaders of the United States House of Representatives. This title is currently held by Democratic Representative Nancy Pelosi of California....

 in coordinating the party caucus in its responses to legislation and other matters. However, the United States House of Representatives does not use the term "Minority Whip." The House of Representatives uses the terms "Republican Whip" or "Democratic Whip" depending on the Minority Party.

List of party whips, 1897–present

(Names in Bold indicate Majority)

Dates	Democratic Whip	State	Republican Whip	State
1897-1899	None		James Albertus Tawney James Albertus Tawney James Albertus Tawney was a blacksmith, machinist and U.S. politician and a member of the United States House of Representatives from Minnesota. He was the first House Majority Whip, holding that position from 1899 to 1905....	Minnesota
1899-1901	Oscar Underwood Oscar Underwood Oscar Wilder Underwood was an American politician.Underwood was born in Louisville, Kentucky, on May 6, 1862. He was the grandson of Joseph R. Underwood, a Kentucky Senator circa 1850. He attended the University of Virginia at Charlottesville...	Alabama
1901-1905	James T. Lloyd	Missouri
1905-1909			James E. Watson	Indiana
1909-1913	None		John W. Dwight	New York
1913-1915	Thomas M. Bell Thomas Montgomery Bell Thomas Montgomery Bell was an American politician who served as House majority whip from 1913 to 1915.Bell was born in Nacoochee Valley, near Cleveland, Georgia. He graduated from Moore’s Business University at Atlanta, then taught public school in Cleveland from 1878 to 1879. He then worked as a...	Georgia	Charles H. Burke Charles H. Burke Charles Henry Burke was a Republican Congressman from South Dakota and Commissioner of the Bureau of Indian Affairs in the 1920s.-Biography:He was born near Batavia, New York, in 1861, and attended the public school there...	South Dakota
1915-1919	None		Charles M. Hamilton Charles Mann Hamilton Charles Mann Hamilton was an American congressman who represented the state of New York.He was born January 23, 1874 in Ripley, New York, USA. He served in the New York State Assembly from 1906 to...	New York
1919-1921	None		Harold Knutson Harold Knutson Harold Knutson was born in Skien, in Telemark county, Norway. At the age of 6 he and his family moved to the United States initially settling in Chicago, Illinois, but later moving to Sherburne County, Minnesota. He became the editor for the St. Cloud Daily Journal-Press and later president of the...	Minnesota
1921-1923	William A. Oldfield	Arkansas
1923-1931			Albert H. Vestal	Indiana
1931-1933	John McDuffie John McDuffie John McDuffie was born in River Ridge, Alabama in Monroe County on September 25, 1883. He was educated by private tutors. He attended college at Southern University in Greensboro. He later attended Alabama Polytechnic Institute in Auburn, Alabama, where he in graduated in 1904...	Alabama	Carl G. Bachmann Carl G. Bachmann Carl G. Bachmann was a United States Congressman from Wheeling, West Virginia.Bachmann was born in Wheeling as the son of Charles F. and Sophia Bachmann. In 1908 he graduated from Linsly Institute. He went to college first at Washington and Jefferson College for two years, and later graduated West...	West Virginia
1933-1935	Arthur H. Greenwood Arthur H. Greenwood Arthur Herbert Greenwood was an United States Representative for Indiana for 2nd District from 1923–1933 and for the 7th District 1933–1939. Greenwood was defeated in 1938....	Indiana	Harry L. Englebright	California
1935-1942	Patrick J. Boland Patrick J. Boland Patrick Joseph Boland was a United States representative for Pennsylvania 11th District.-Biography:Born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, he attended St. Thomas College. He worked as a carpenter and general contractor. He was on the Scranton city council from 1905 to 1906, the Board of education from...	Pennsylvania
1942-1943	Robert Ramspeck Robert Ramspeck Robert C. Word Ramspeck was an American politician and businessman.-Biography:Ramspeck was born in Decatur, Georgia. As a young man he was a federal police officer. He was admitted to the bar in 1920. He would go on to be a Democratic congressman from Georgia from 1929 to 1945. In the period of...	Georgia
1943-1945			Leslie C. Arends	Illinois
1945-1947	John J. Sparkman	Alabama
1947-1949	John W. McCormack	Massachusetts	Leslie C. Arends	Illinois
1949-1953	J. Percy Priest	Tennessee	Leslie C. Arends	Illinois
1953-1955	John W. McCormack	Massachusetts	Leslie C. Arends	Illinois
1955-1962	Carl Albert Carl Albert Carl Bert Albert was a lawyer and a Democratic American politician from Oklahoma.Albert represented the southeastern portion of Oklahoma as a Democrat for 30 years, starting in 1947. He is best known for his service as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1971 to 1977...	Oklahoma	Leslie C. Arends	Illinois
1962-1971	Thomas Hale Boggs	Louisiana
1971-1973	Tip O'Neill Tip O'Neill Thomas Phillip "Tip" O'Neill, Jr. was an American politician. O'Neill was an outspoken liberal Democrat and influential member of the U.S. Congress, serving in the House of Representatives for 34 years and representing two congressional districts in Massachusetts...	Massachusetts
1973-1975	John J. McFall John J. McFall John Joseph McFall was a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives, representing the state of California, rising to the position of House Majority Whip.-Early life and career:...	California
1975-1977			Robert H. Michel Robert H. Michel Robert Henry "Bob" Michel is an American Republican Party politician who was a member of the United States House of Representatives for 38 years. He represented central Illinois' 18th congressional district, and was the GOP leader in Congress, serving as Minority Leader for 14 years during an era...	Illinois
1977-1981	John W. Brademas	Indiana
1981-1987	Thomas S. Foley	Washington	Trent Lott Trent Lott Chester Trent Lott, Sr. , is a former United States Senator from Mississippi and has served in numerous leadership positions in the House of Representatives and the Senate....	Mississippi
1987-1989	Tony Coelho Tony Coelho Anthony "Tony" Coelho is a former United States congressman from California, and primary sponsor of the Americans with Disabilities Act...	California
1989	William H. Gray, III	Pennsylvania	Dick Cheney Dick Cheney Richard Bruce "Dick" Cheney served as the 46th Vice President of the United States , under George W. Bush....	Wyoming
1989-1991			Newt Gingrich Newt Gingrich Newton Leroy "Newt" Gingrich is a U.S. Republican Party politician who served as the House Minority Whip from 1989 to 1995 and as the 58th Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999....	Georgia
1991-1995	David E. Bonior David E. Bonior David Edward Bonior is an American politician from the US state of Michigan. First elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1976, Bonior served as Democratic whip in the House from 1991 to 2002, during which time Democrats were in both the majority and minority , making Bonior the third...	Michigan
1995-2002	David E. Bonior David E. Bonior David Edward Bonior is an American politician from the US state of Michigan. First elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1976, Bonior served as Democratic whip in the House from 1991 to 2002, during which time Democrats were in both the majority and minority , making Bonior the third...	Michigan	Tom DeLay Tom DeLay Thomas Dale "Tom" DeLay is a former member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1984 until 2006. He was Republican Party House Majority Leader from 2003 to 2005, when he resigned because of criminal money laundering charges in...	Texas
2002-2003	Nancy Pelosi Nancy Pelosi Nancy Patricia D'Alesandro Pelosi is the Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives and served as the 60th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2007 to 2011...	California
2003-2007	Steny Hoyer Steny Hoyer Steny Hamilton Hoyer is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1981. The district includes a large swath of rural and suburban territory southeast of Washington, D.C.. He is a member of the Democratic Party....	Maryland	Roy Blunt Roy Blunt Roy D. Blunt is the junior United States Senator from Missouri. He is a member of the Republican Party. His Senate seat was previously held by Republican Kit Bond, until his retirement....	Missouri
2007–2009	Jim Clyburn Jim Clyburn James Enos "Jim" Clyburn is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1993, and the Assistant Democratic Leader since 2011. He was previously House Majority Whip, serving in that post from 2007 to 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party...	South Carolina	Roy Blunt Roy Blunt Roy D. Blunt is the junior United States Senator from Missouri. He is a member of the Republican Party. His Senate seat was previously held by Republican Kit Bond, until his retirement....	Missouri
2009–2011			Eric Cantor Eric Cantor Eric Ivan Cantor is the U.S. Representative for Virginia's 7th congressional district, serving since 2001. A member of the Republican Party, he became House Majority Leader when the 112th Congress convened on January 3, 2011...	Virginia
2011–	Steny Hoyer Steny Hoyer Steny Hamilton Hoyer is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1981. The district includes a large swath of rural and suburban territory southeast of Washington, D.C.. He is a member of the Democratic Party....	Maryland	Kevin McCarthy	California