Gang of Seven

The Gang of Seven refers to a group of Republican U.S. Representatives, elected in 1990. The group loudly condemned the House banking scandal and the Congressional Post Office Scandal. They also criticised Congressional perks such as subsidies for the Capitol Barbershop and Senate Restaurant.

The seven Representatives were:

*John Boehner (OH-08)
*John Doolittle (CA-04)
*Scott Klug (WI-02)
*Jim Nussle (IA-01)
*Frank Riggs (CA-01)
*Charles H. Taylor (NC-11)
*Rick Santorum (PA-18)

Six of the seven will not serve in the 111th Congress. Two were defeated for re-election, and four have resigned.

Santorum was once considered a rising star in the GOP. He was the first of the Gang of Seven to run for higher office, and the only one who was successful, becoming the Junior US Senator from Pennsylvania in the Republican landslide of 1994. Santorum served two terms in the Senate and rose to the level of Senate Republican Conference Chairman before being defeated by State Treasurer Bob Casey in 2006.

Charles Taylor, who remained in the House and was then an 11-term incumbent, was also defeated in 2006 amid allegations of corruption, losing to former NFL quarterback Heath Shuler.

Four others retired, two of them to run for higher office. Riggs resigned his seat in 1998 to run for US Senate, but lost to incumbent Barbara Boxer. Nussle resigned in 2006 to run for the open Iowa governor's seat, but also lost, to current incumbent Chet Culver. Klug chose to return to private life in 1998. Doolittle, accused of involvement in the Jack Abramoff scandal, is retiring at the end of his current term in 2008.

Only Boehner still remains in office, where he has been extremely successful in advancing his career. In February of 2006, he became House Majority Leader. After the November 2006 election, when the Republicans lost control of the House, he became the House Minority Leader. He is expected to win re-election in 2008.

External links

*Rick Hendersen, [http://reason.com/9601/RICKcol.shtml "The House Republican freshmen: always aggressive, sometimes obnoxious, hardly mono lithic"] "Reason Online"
*William McGurn, [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1282/is_n7_v44/ai_12127933 "Rubber congressmen - check bouncing scandal"] , "National Review", April 13, 1992