As Missouri Rep. Roy Blunt stepped aside as minority whip, the second-ranking Republican in the U.S. House, politicians weighed in with praise for their long-time colleague.

Northwest Missouri Rep. Sam Graves benefited from the tutelage of and homestate affiliation with his Republican colleague.

"Roy has been a friend and mentor to me since I entered Congress," Mr. Graves said Thursday. "As the Republican Whip, Roy Blunt never strayed from his principles and always fought for what he thought was right. Roy won votes not by raising his voice, but by listening to members and working to make legislation better.

"While I will miss his leadership in the Whip's Office, I look forward to working with Roy in the coming Congress to fight for the commonsense Republican principles that will help all of Missouri's families."

In addition to their working relationship, Mr. Graves got a boost from a Blunt campaign treasury called the Rely On Your Beliefs Fund. Since 2000, the Northwest Missouri lawmaker has gotten $45,000 in campaign money from the so-called ROYB account. Other Missouri representatives, like Todd Akin, Jo Ann Emerson and Kenny Hulshof, also benefited, as did Republican candidates around the nation.

(Of course, Mr. Blunt's access to large amounts of money came with its own controversy. The father of Missouri's governor became a point man in Congress for the growing, and some say unhealthy, relationship between the legislative branch and the lobbying industry. By happenstance of alphabetical order, the first name that shows up on the contributor list for the ROYB Fund is Jack Abramoff, the former lobbyist whose influence-buying ways landed him in prison.)

U.S. Sen. Christopher Bond, the state's elder Republican statesman, spoke to Mr. Blunt's dual role in a national position and as a home-state representative.

"On the national level, it is Roy's work in the House that helped us pass the most important piece of legislation this Congress the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Thanks to Roy's ability to work across the aisle, negotiate with Democrats and keep the Republicans together we were able to see signed into law this most important tool in keeping Americans safe from terrorist attacks," Mr. Bond said.

"While fighting for critical national issues like staying on the offense in the war on terror and making our nation more energy independent, Roy never forgot his roots. Roy has consistently fought for the folks in Southwest Missouri from combating meth to improving care for veterans to creating jobs in local communities."

Even a member of the opposition party, Democratic Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland, voiced regrets about the Blunt decision.

"In an increasingly partisan Washington, he is one of those legislators who enjoy genuine friendships on the other side of the aisle and I know I'm not the only Democrat sorry to see him leave his party's leadership," Mr. Hoyer said. "Although we often disagree on policy, I always appreciate his willingness to work together to seek common ground, to making this branch of government work, and to achieving principled, bipartisan compromise."