Once he defeated former Democratic congresswoman Jill Long Thompson in his 2002 run for the U.S. House, he became a member of the Agriculture, Small Business, Transportation and Infrastructure, as well as Ways and Means committees of the House of Representatives. Subsequently, he defeated former Mishawaka Marian School Board President Joe Donnelly in 2004, and lost in a rematch in 2006. As of April 2009, he landed the president post at the Club for Growth, where he still serves.