Rep. Kevin McCarthy a pro-life freshman Republican from California, will chair the platform committee for the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn., the party announced yesterday.
Mr. McCarthy, 43, is believed to be the youngest person to chair the GOP’s panel that will outline the party’s tenets in a document compiled at the convention.
“This appointment is a positive development for retaining a conservative Republican platform,” said James Bopp Jr., a Republican National Committee member from Indiana and twice a member of the platform committee.
In his first year in Congress, Mr. McCarthyhad a 100 percent pro-life voting record, according to the National Right to Life committee.
Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, has let it been known through associates that he will not work to “soften” the party’s platform, which supports a constitutional ban on abortion.
Mr. McCain himself has a pro-life record in Congress.
Mr. McCarthy, who also favors free trade and Second Amendment rights, was named to the platform committee chairmanship by House Republican Leader John A. Boehner, with the concurrence of Mr. McCain’s presidential campaign.
“Kevin McCarthy has the commitment to reform, energy, and enthusiasm to guide Republicans in crafting a bold platform founded on our time-tested principles of faith, freedom, and strength,” Mr. Boehner said.
Steven J. Duffield, former aide to conservative Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona, will be the committee’s executive director.
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