It’s fair to say that central Ohio’s rising star in Washington, Rep. Steve Stivers — a soldier, founder of a small business and father of two young children — is tailor-made for his powerful new position in Congress.

In a surprise appointment last month, he was awarded a seat on the House Rules Committee, often called the “traffic cop of Congress” for its role in determining which bills reach the House floor for a vote. Stivers will play a pivotal role in helping the resurgent GOP break years of paralyzing gridlock to govern in the 114th Congress.

While voters in November gave Republicans control of both the House and Senate, other obstacles have not changed: There still will be strife from the GOP’s ideological fringe, bitter partisan combat and hostility from an aloof and autocratic White House.

Stivers might be the perfect choice to balance these competing interests and blunt the antagonism. He’s a graduate of the Army War College.

He earned a Bronze Star as a battalion commander in the second Persian Gulf War.

Washington can’t look that daunting after his service in Kuwait, Iraq, Qatar and Djibouti. But the legislative branch has been a cold-war zone, and the test will be whether Republican majorities in both houses of the 114th Congress can avoid the fate of the preceding one.

The 113th Congress was one of the least productive since the 1940s.

Stivers’ new role will give him a chance to show off his considerable leadership and negotiation skills. It is a vote of confidence by House Speaker John Boehner, a fellow Ohioan.

The Rules Committee is known as “the Speaker’s committee,” because it is the primary means by which the speaker controls the fate of bills. What’s said about and done with a bill is strictly controlled by the Rules Committee. The Upper Arlington Republican, who is beginning his third term in the House, also will continue to serve on the House Financial Services Committee.

All in all, Stivers will have a considerable role in shaping federal policy.

It’s “a very powerful combination,” former central Ohio Congresswoman Deborah Pryce told USA Today. Pryce, whose former seat Stivers now holds, left the House as the fourth-highest ranking member.

She said Stivers will be “right in the middle of everything.”

That’s lucky for central Ohio, because this clout means its interests are well-represented. And it’s good for Americans, because Stivers brings important perspective to Washington.

In addition to his military career, he founded a financial-services business and is a husband and dad.

His new committee assignment will tap the strong leadership skills of a congenial representative who has a clear vision of what’s best for the nation and the ability to say “no” without making enemies.

Stivers recognizes the competing demands he’ll face, from colleagues who will plead for their bills and from the GOP leadership, which wishes to avoid long and contentious floor fights. He told USA Today that he’ll use the committee post to focus on ‘what’s right for the bill and what’s right for America and what we can pass.’ ”