By Courtney Coren
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor appears to be moving toward the center as he tries to unite the House around issues in which Republicans and Democrats can find common ground.
"The growing realization around here is that the differences [between the parties] are still there, but that doesn't mean we can't focus on the things that bring us together," Cantor told The Washington Post. "The public is looking for someone who has their back."
The Virginia Republican has dropped his push for major cuts to federal programs and moved to pushing for more funding for pediatric cancer research, talking about solutions to urban poverty and education reforms, and he recently appeared at a civil rights event in Mississippi to honor Democratic Rep. John Lewis of Georgia.
He has also been working behind the scenes to get House Republicans to support legislation that would allow some illegal immigrants that were brought across the border as children to become legal residents.
However, some of the more conservative members of the House are skeptical of the shift.
"Those of us who elected Eric expected him to be a lot more aggressive than he is right now," said Republican Rep. Dana Rohrabacher of California.
Cantor's tea party primary opponent Randolf-Macon College economics professor David Brat has called him an "Obama ally and amnesty's staunchest proponent," according to the Post.
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