Menendez chosen as House regional whip for Mid-Atlantic states

Rep.-elect Rob Menendez (D-Jersey City) announced today that he’ll serve as a Regional Whip in the 118th Congress, a role that entails whipping the votes of his region’s Democrats in a closely divided Republican-controlled House.

 “The next two years will be a challenging time as the GOP will utilize their thin majority to target President Biden and block progress for working families,” Menendez said in a statement. “I look forward to working with our caucus and as a part of incoming Whip [Rep. Katherine] Clark’s team to move our country forward.”

The region Menendez will cover includes New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, and the District of Columbia, which together send 23 Democratic House members and one Democratic non-voting delegate to Washington.

Earlier this month, Menendez was also narrowly chosen as the freshman representative on the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee, which determines committee assignments and helps craft the caucus’ policies. But he’ll only hold that role for the next year; he and Rep.-elect Hillary Scholten (D-Michigan) deadlocked in an initial intra-caucus vote, so he’ll serve until January 2024, when he’ll be replaced by Scholten.