House Majority Leader Tom DeLay is a consummate conservative, but as The Hill's Alexander Bolton reports, DeLay now feels it's time to become a little more conservative.

Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) has positioned himself as a driving force behind an ambitious plan to overhaul the congressional budgetary rules, aligning himself with House conservatives with whom he has recently clashed on the issue.

DeLay has also asked the chairman of the Appropriations Committee to work with fiscal conservatives to implement budget reforms, bringing together two factions of the GOP conference that have been mutually antagonistic.

DeLay has thus forged a working relationship with House conservatives on reforming House budget rules, which GOP leaders have opposed because the proposed changes would undermine their power, according to conservative lawmakers involved in the issue.

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One conservative member, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of angering his leader, interpreted DeLay’s recent push for reform as an effort to strengthen his ties to House conservatives, who form DeLay’s power base in the GOP conference.

Last month, DeLay also led opposition to legislation that would liberalize federal funding for stem-cell research, another important issue for conservatives.

Conservatives have been DeLay’s staunchest defenders in recent controversies. Leaders of conservative groups such as the American Conservative Union met DeLay in March to pledge support. They also helped organize a dinner in his honor last month.

Who would have thought a man who received a 93.3 conservative score from National Journal would need to move to appease conservatives in his caucus?