<P> Before 1899, the majority party floor leader had traditionally been the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, the most powerful committee in the House, as it generates the Bills of Revenue specified in the Constitution as the House's unique power . </P> <P> The office of Majority Leader was created in 1899 and first occupied by Sereno Payne . Speaker David B. Henderson created the position to establish a party leader on the House floor separate from the Speaker, as the role of Speaker had become more prominent, and the size of the House had grown from 105 at the beginning of the century to 356 . </P> <P> Starting with Republican Nicholas Longworth in 1925, and continued through the Democrats' control of the House from 1931 to 1995, save for Republican majorities in 1947--49 and 1953--55, all majority leaders have directly ascended to the Speakership brought upon by the retirement of the incumbent . The only exceptions during this period were Charles A. Halleck who became Republican House leader and Minority Leader from 1959 to 1965, Hale Boggs who died in a plane crash, and Dick Gephardt who became the Democrats' House leader but as Minority Leader since his party lost control in the 1994 midterm elections . Since 1995, the only Majority Leader to become Speaker is John Boehner, though indirectly as his party lost control in the 2006 midterms elections . He subsequently served as Republican House leader and Minority Leader from 2007 to 2011 and then was elected Speaker when the House reconvened in 2011 . In 1998, with Speaker Newt Gingrich announcing his resignation, both Majority Leader Dick Armey and Majority Whip Tom DeLay did not contest the Speakership which eventually went to Chief Deputy Whip Dennis Hastert . </P> <P> Traditionally, the Speaker is reckoned as the leader of the majority party in the House, with the Majority Leader as second - in - command . For instance, when the Republicans gained the majority in the House after the 2010 elections, Eric Cantor succeeded Boehner as Majority Leader . Despite this, Cantor and his successor, Kevin McCarthy, have been reckoned as the second - ranking Republicans in the House, since Boehner was still reckoned as the leader of the House Republicans . However, there have been some exceptions . The most recent exception to this rule came when Majority Leader Tom DeLay generally overshadowed Speaker Dennis Hastert from 2003 to 2006 . In contrast, the Minority Leader is the undisputed leader of the minority party . </P>

Who is the most powerful leader in the house of representatives