JAMES LAWLER DUGGAN/REUTERS House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio leaves a meeting with House Republicans on Capitol Hill Friday after he informed fellow Republicans he would resign from Congress at the end of October.
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He will resign not simply the speakership at the end of October – a post he has held since 2011 – but the House seat he has occupied for 25 years. An absolute majority is required to elect a new speaker, meaning the magic number of votes that a candidate must get is 218. House GOP leaders have summoned their divided conference for a make-or-break discussion on how to fight taxpayer funding of Planned Parenthood without having the battle lead to a government shutdown next week. “I don’t want to put my colleagues through this”.
Besides, Boehner said, his new plan was to leave at the end of this year.
Jefferson County Democratic Party Chair Sheila Sachitano said she wishes Boehner would have stood up to his own party and polarizing personalities in the Tea Party. While having his invitation to the pope rewarded with an address to Congress was important, putting the nation on a solid fiscal path would be a terrific legacy.
Do you think, now that Speaker Jphn Boehner is on his way out, that all will be peace and harmony in the Republican caucus? After all, who could have spoken more forcefully against the Iran nuclear deal than Prime Minister Netanyahu or against the actions of Planned Parenthood than the Pope?
“The disagreements within the conference have never been about John Boehner’s personality, they’ve been disagreements over tactics”, said David Schnittger, Boehner’s former longtime deputy chief of staff. “And they’re probably going to continue”.
While Boehner favoured reviving the US Export-Import Bank, McCarthy and Hensarling have opposed it. The bank’s charter expired June 30, eliminating a source of credit for United States companies seeking export sales.
Idaho’s other House member, Republican Mike Simpson, was a longtime Boehner supporter.
“If that’s Kevin McCarthy, great”.
Rep. Mick Mulvaney, R-Indian Land: “I have always liked John personally”. The Tea Party did.
Boehner, second in line to succeed the president and into his 13th two-year term announced his decision in a closed-door session of the Republican caucus.
But who will take his place?
On one of the most divisive issues nationally, undocumented immigrants, McCarthy believes in a path to citizenship, which is something of a poison pill for the very conservative wing of the party. “We need bold leadership, and this gives us a chance to get it”, said Rep. Louie Gohmert of Texas. “You just saw this effort by the House to defund Planned Parenthood and they’re willing to shut down the government to do so”, Wright said.
Congress has until Wednesday night to pass a spending bill to keep the government open for business.
U.S. Rep. Charlie Dent, a Republican from Pennsylvania, was less hopeful in an interview Friday with The New York Times.
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“Boehner embraced the man, grabbing both his shoulders, and said, ‘That’s not going to happen’. I plan on getting as much of it done as I can before I exit”. “There’s a lot of work that needs to be done”.
