Steny Hoyer is a member of the United States House of Representatives from Maryland, serving since 1981. He served as the Democratic Whip prior to Frank Underwood taking the position, yet remains a high ranking member of the Democratic Caucus.
Apparently Steny had a long standing, albeit secret friendship with his counterpart in the Republican Party Kevin McCarthy; the two whips taking the time to play nerf ball every Tuesday. In 2013, Congressman Frank Underwood hoarded tickets to the White House Correspondents Dinner, giving him control over seating arrangements, a power he used to leverage other members of the Legislative branch as well as the media. Underwood placed Hoyer next to McCarthy for the event, but the two men were concerned that this would make their friendship public. Frank offered to split them up if Steny could provide him tickets to a Ravens game, which Hoyer was unable to provide, but agreed anyway when McCarthy offered him backstage passes to a Taylor Swift concert. Underwood referred to them as "the coolest whips in town."
Trivia
- The information in this article is from a spoof made for the real White House Correspondents Dinner based on House of Cards in 2013 in which Congressman Hoyer appeared. It is unknown if this implies he is a member Congress within the series.
- In reality, Steny Hoyer was the House Democratic Whip in 2013, a position that is held by Frank Underwood in the show.