Rep. G.K. Butterfield To Succeed Rep. John Lewis In House Leadership Role
WASHINGTON, DC — Rep. G.K. Butterfield will serve as one of two top lieutenants to Majority Whip Jim Clyburn when the 117th Congress is installed next month.
Butterfield, D-Wilson, joins Rep. Jan Schakowsky, an Illinois Democrat, as a Senior Chief Deputy Whip, Clyburn announced Wednesday (Nov. 2). The appointment is a promotion for Butterfield, who’s currently a chief deputy whip. He assumes the senior chief slot on Clyburn’s whip team that Rep. John Lewis, a Georgia congressman and civil rights leader, held until his July 17 death from pancreatic cancer.
Clyburn said, “I have known G.K. for many more years than either of us care to admit and have been honored to have him as a Chief Deputy Whip since 2007. Both of us were longtime friends and colleagues of the late John Lewis, and I am honored that G.K. will fill John’s role as Senior Chief Deputy Whip. I look forward to collaborating with him in the 117th Congress to move the Democratic agenda forward on behalf of the American people.”
Butterfield said he’s “particularly humbled” to succeed Lewis in the role and thanked Clyburn, who he called his “friend and mentor” for the appointment.
“I look forward to working with my colleagues in a bipartisan manner to pass legislation that will create good-paying jobs and help the American economy build back better from the devastation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic,” Butterfield said in a news release. “I will support the Biden administration’s legislative agenda as we work together to provide economic security to America’s families.”
The House Democratic and Republican caucuses met last month to elect leaders for the 2021 congressional term. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., will continue serving as House speaker and Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., will reprise his role as minority leader.
Clyburn, D-S.C., was reelected as majority whip on Nov. 18 and announced his 10-member whip team this week. Whips are tasked with polling House members before floor votes and lobbying them to vote with party leadership.
Butterfield, who was elected to a ninth term representing North Carolina’s 1st Congressional District, is the Tar Heel State’s highest-ranking House member.
Court-ordered redistricting that changed the 2nd Congressional District’s contours also reshaped the 1st District for 2021. Butterfield’s district will drop Durham County and add Nash County and western Wilson County.
Feature photo (via Facebook)