What do the House Majority and Minority Whips do exactly?
Rochester, New York – 5/3/00 Rep. Tom DeLay Rep. David Bonior Tom DeLay, Majority Whip, is the 3rd ranking leader in the House Republican party, and is in charge of maintaining party unity, just as Rep. David Bonior, the Minority Whip and 2nd ranking leader in the House Democratic party, performs a similar role for the minority. Whips in recent years have often advanced to become their partys leader, and even Speaker of the House. The first Republican whip was appointed in 1897, and the first Democratic whip in 1901. The use of the term whip, comes from the British House of Commons. In the British practice, the whipper-in plays an important role in the sport of fox hunting. He whips the dogs to keep them running after the fox as a pack, preventing them from running off on their own. Similarly, the whipper-in of both the government and opposition parties in Parliament is tasked with encouraging Members to vote with their party, and not stray off on their own. Today each Whip has a staff
