Tea Party groups pressure House GOP leaders to rev up Fast and Furious probe

Local Tea Party activists are pressing House Republican leaders to pursue their investigation into the Operation Fast and Furious gun-tracking effort more aggressively.

The top three House Republicans have been slow to lead the charge of the GOP’s criticism of the botched operation.

As a result, local Tea Party groups in the home districts of House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), and Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) are turning up the heat on the lawmakers.

The groups say their representatives maintain the most powerful positions in the lower chamber and should be more critical of President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder.

The president of the local Dayton Tea Party in Boehner’s home district has criticized the lawmaker repeatedly over his silence on Fast and Furious. Local Tea Party candidate David Lewis hammered Boehner on the issue during his campaign to oust the top ranking Republican, though he only managed to garner 16 percent of the vote in Tuesday’s primary.

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