Eric Cantor is back.
After transitioning from the elaborate lifestyle of security details and ornate Capitol Hill offices afforded senior congressional leaders to the comparatively drab, corporate existence of an investment banker, Cantor is re-emerging as a Republican political power player.
The one-time presumed successor to House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, might have lost some of the luster with insurgent conservatives that rocketed him into House leadership relatively early in his 14-year congressional career. But Cantor remains a force, influential in Establishment political and “Reformicon” policy circles. His fans range from American Enterprise Institute’s Arthur Brooks, to the top Republican presidential contenders, to Tea Party darlings like Tim Scott.
“He’s a brilliant man with an understanding of the political process and the policies — he’s really good at them,” Scott, the South Carolina senator, told the Washington Examiner. “He brings with him a wealth of knowledge that very few people have in this town.”
Cantor, 51, only ended up here because Republicans in his Richmond-area congressional district rejected him. Almost nine months ago, Cantor became the first sitting House majority leader since the leadership post was created to lose in a GOP primary when he was ousted by a conservative, anti-Establishment challenger, now-Rep. Dave Brat.
But in an interview Wednesday in the just-opened Washington office of boutique investment banking firm Moelis & Company, where Cantor serves as vice chairman, the former congressman appeared remarkably at peace with that chapter of his professional life, and excited about his private sector career as an entrepreneurial financier. Also unmistakable was a desire to get back into the game.
Cantor exuded particular enthusiasm about Republican politics and helping the GOP in 2016, as if liberated from having to constrict his agenda to the whims a couple hundred other Republicans and the constituents they represent. Cantor is free to advise his favorite presidential candidates (Jeb Bush; Chris Christie; Marco Rubio and Scott Walker), which he does regularly, and available to invest his prolific fundraising skills and lucrative Rolodex in whomever he chooses.
Cantor did not rule out endorsing a candidate in the 2016 primary, although he said it’s still early, nor did he shy away from throwing a few elbows at President Obama. He’s hopeful that the eventual Republican nominee will adopt policies that address wage stagnation, promote school choice and attack the rising cost of education as well as other middle class concerns that animated him while in Congress, and in fact, still do.
“Clearly I still care about the direction of this country; I care about the conservative cause; I care about the Republican Party,” Cantor said. “We need a leader of the party, and for the country, that can say … to everyone — whatever your background — to say: ‘I believe in America, I’m confident in our future I am not interested in dividing our country.’”
Cantor might have fallen out of favor with the conservative grassroots and the talk radio set. But in interviews, several D.C. Republican operatives and New York GOP donors said the Virginian still has political muscle that is valuable to the party generally and would be a boon to any Republican presidential candidate, especially a sitting or former governor who has never worked in Washington.
The Tuesday evening soiree to celebrate the opening of Moelis’ Washington office drew the top five elected House Republican leaders; House Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich.; Rep. Trey Gowdy of South Carolina, chairman of the House select committee investigating the Sept. 11, 2012 terrorist attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya; Scott and Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., among other notables.
Over six years as a House GOP leader, including two as minority whip and four as majority leader, Cantor raised approximately $200 million, according to figures provided by his political advisors. He assiduously cultivated and maintained the support of financial industry political donors. But Cantor’s fundraising prowess wasn’t limited to Wall Street.
“He can reach out to Jewish donors who have given to Republicans because of Eric,” said a New York-based GOP contributor.
He used his position as a prominent Jewish Republican, and eventually the highest ranking elected Jewish Republican in America, to cull contributions from traditionally Democratic donors and others who hadn’t previously given to the GOP. Cantor donors told the Examiner that the former congressman still commands the support of contributor network, positioning him as among the most valuable potential GOP bundlers of the 2016 campaign.
However, Cantor’s policy expertise and nuts-and-bolts familiarity with government could be among his most valuable assets, say Republican insiders.
Cantor continues to travel internationally as part of his duty as a vice chairman for Moelis, a publicly traded U.S. firm but one with an international presence and overseas offices. This month, Cantor made multiple stops in Middle East, including Saudi Arabia and Dubai, helping him stay in touch with foreign business and government leaders and satiate his longstanding interest and focus on foreign policy and the role of the U.S. as a global leader.
Cantor could also bring to a campaign, or a Republican administration, a deep experience with the sausage-making of producing legislation. He knows many Republican members of Congress personally, having developed relationships as a part of helping elect them and leading them on the Hill. And he understands the complicated politics of the Capitol, which can be so much different than the politics of winning elections.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if, in the next Republican administration, he wasn’t tapped for secretary of state or chief of staff,” said Michael Herson, a Republican operative and president of American Defense International.
