Boehner shocked Capitol Hill Friday morning by announcing he would step down as House Speaker on October 30th.
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Salmon, a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, noted that for his congressional district, removing Boehner had been a “top priority” and he had committed to vote against efforts to keep Boehner as Speaker. It now appears, however, that his announcement could make this threat less likely, as many Republican lawmakers say they will support a spending bill that does not withhold funding from the group, as some conservative have threatened.
As Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, Hensarling has been a major figure in housing finance reform for nearly three years. “I didn’t have any advance knowledge, just like his staff didn’t”, said Bob Boehner, John Boehner’s brother. As a former minority leader who became the first Republican Speaker of the House in Florida since Reconstruction, I know that leadership is not an easy task.
Few California lawmakers cause more headaches for Gov. Jerry Brown and the Democrats who dominate the state Legislature than Kevin McCarthy, the House Majority Leader from Bakersfield.
“It was stunning, it was selfless on the part of Speaker Boehner”, Sensenbrenner said.
Boehner said his advice to McCarthy is that “his number one responsibility is going to be to protect the institution”. For much of that time, he’s managed a fractious Republican majority that includes conservatives who at times have rebelled against his leadership. “John Boehner has tirelessly served his country and party, and I honestly don’t think Republicans would have reclaimed the majority in 2010 if it weren’t for his vision and determination to achieve what everyone said couldn’t be done”. “He has always tried to do what’s best for the country”.
Many Republicans said they would reject any bill that did not defund the organization. Some Republicans say they’d prefer Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, who has said he doesn’t want the job.
U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez, another Chicago Democrat, praised Boehner for resisting more extreme Republican views, saying it couldn’t have been easy to be a decent man at the head of what he feels is becoming a party of anti-immigrant policies and intolerance.
Congresswoman Cheri Bustos (IL-17) envisioned a productive ending for Boehner’s last month as Speaker. “He is the speaker of the whole House”, Medvic said.
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“I think this in some way is him falling on his sword”, said David O’Connell, a professor of American politics at Dickinson University. “We now have the responsibility to elect a Speaker who can lead us through the challenges ahead with unity and in accordance with our core principles”.
