Cantor, Eric (1963-…), served as the majority leader of the United States House of Representatives from 2011 to 2014. He had served as the Republican whip (assistant leader) from 2009 to 2011. Cantor had represented Virginia in the House since 2001.
Eric Ivan Cantor was born in Richmond, Virginia, on June 6, 1963. He received a bachelor’s degree from George Washington University in 1985 and a law degree from the College of William and Mary in 1988. In 1989, Cantor earned a master’s degree in real estate management from Columbia University in New York City.
Following graduation, Cantor worked as a lawyer in private practice and for his family’s real estate business in Richmond. In 1991, he won election to the Virginia House of Delegates. He won reelection four times.
In 2000, Cantor was elected to his first term in the U.S. Congress. In 2003, he became his party’s deputy whip. While in Congress, Cantor served on the Ways and Means Committee, which oversees government spending. He also served as chairman of the Congressional Task Force on Terrorism and Unconventional Warfare. A conservative, Cantor supported tax cuts and opposed abortion and federal funding for stem cell research. In foreign affairs, Cantor, one of few Jewish Republicans in Congress, was a strong supporter of Israel.
In June 2014, Cantor was defeated in a Republican primary election. He lost the primary to David Brat, an economics professor who supported many of the positions favored by the conservative tea party movement. Cantor then stepped down from his leadership position in the House. He resigned from his House seat in August. The following month, Cantor joined the board of directors of Moelis and Company, an investment bank.
