Rep. Andy Harris said Wednesday he is running to lead an influential caucus of House Republicans wrestling with dissension from its most conservative members.
The Baltimore County Republican considered running to chair the Republican Study Committee in 2014, but dropped out after his wife died unexpectedly. Harris said he is taking another shot now, with his family's blessing, and is already reaching out to colleagues for their support.
The decision comes as some members of the conservative Freedom Caucus, to which Harris also belongs, have threatened to leave the Republican Study Committee. Though the two groups hold similar positions on policy, the Freedom Caucus -- with about 40 members -- has been more willing to openly defy GOP leadership.
The Republican Study Committee has grown considerably since it was created in the 1970s as a conservative arm of House Republicans. It now encompasses nearly three-quarters of all House Republican lawmakers. In that time, however, the definition of "conservative" has also changed, giving rise to more right-leaning groups.
In addition to Harris, freshman Rep. Mark Walker of North Carolina has also expressed an interest in the chairmanship. Rep. Trent Franks of Arizona, whose name was floated earlier this month for the post, will not seek the chair, an aide to the congressman said.
"To some extent the Republican Study Committee has become a victim of its own success," Harris said in an interview when asked about the threatened defections. "We still need to be certain that the [policies] that come out of the relatively conservative House have a conservative stamp."
Harris said he hoped to make the caucus "a major source of conservative policy in the House" and said he would continue efforts by current chairman, Rep. Bill Flores of Texas, "to re-steer the RSC back toward its conservative roots."
The election will take place in November. Chairs serve a two-year term.
For Harris, who represents a safe GOP district that includes the Eastern Shore and portions of Baltimore, Harford and Carroll counties, the move is something of a natural progression. His star power has risen in recent years after being appointed to the House Appropriations Committee in 2014.
A Hopkins-trained anesthesiologist who successfully ran against President Barack Obama's health care law in 2010, Harris has engaged in a number of prominent medical issues, including legislation to increase authorized funding for the National Institutes of Health while imposing more fiscal controls on the Bethesda-based agency.