When it comes to finding a leadership role in the next Congress, Tom Price is running out of options. Price, a stalwart conservative House member from Georgia, is the outgoing Republican Policy Committee chairman, which ranked him fifth in the GOP House leadership. His position gave movement conservatives a representative at the leadership table. After all, Price once led the Republican Study Committee (RSC) and was instrumental in raising the profile of that conservative caucus.
Before last week’s election, Price was vying for the chairmanship on the Budget Committee, of which he’s a member. But Mitt Romney’s loss meant his running mate, Wisconsin Republican Paul Ryan, will return to the House. Ryan is seeking a waiver from GOP leadership—which he’s likely to get—so he can serve another term as Budget chairman.
