Eric Cantor Debt

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) discusses budget impasse in Washington Eric Cantor debt talks have centered around blocking any tax hikes.

The House Majority Leader from the 7th District in Virginia has become the Republican party's new voice in budget reduction talks, and he's vocally opposed to any form of tax increase as a means to pull the nation from its debt crisis.

Cantor is putting pressure on his own party's speaker, John Boehner, to push President Barack Obama towards a smaller debt package with no tax increases.

Meanwhile, some Washington insiders are calling Cantor the real mouthpiece for his party, usurping the role from Boehner, who has said little in the closed-door discussions with Obama.

Boehner's failed negotiations with Obama have given more credence to Cantor's assumptions about where votes lie for a debt-limit deal, which, for the moment at least, is focused on the $1 trillion to $2 trillion in cuts identified in talks with Vice President Joe Biden.

"He [Cantor]'s decided that the future for the Republican Party and his own future are tied to a Tea Party, to an anti-tax view and that's what he represents in the House Caucus. John Boehner -- by contrast -- tends more toward compromise. He always has. He's a legislator that can cut a deal," University of Virginia Center for Politics Director Larry Sabato told and NBC affiliate.

Sabato maintains that ultimately, Cantor has his sights set on the speaker's job. Cantor, for his part, denies a rift between himself and Boehner.