By Jackie Kucinich
Roll Call Staff
House Republicans have spent two weeks touting their unity on an economic stimulus package, but a testy confrontation caused by misspoken words reveals that behind closed doors, the bond between the top two GOP leaders is fragile.
Several GOP sources say Minority Whip Eric Cantor (Va.) and Minority Leader John Boehner’s (Ohio) relationship was put to the test after Boehner suggested at a Jan. 28 press conference that Cantor wasn’t whipping votes during the House debate on the economic stimulus measure. Sources say Boehner’s remarks, echoed at the press event by Conference Chairman Mike Pence (Ind.), angered Cantor and prompted a “heated” confrontation between the new Whip and Minority Leader at the GOP retreat at the Homestead Resort in Virginia late last month.