Boehner Braces for Battle with His Own Party

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) “is bracing for what could be the toughest weeks of his speakership as several dozen conservatives in his party are threatening to topple him unless he is more ferocious with Democrats during the upcoming fiscal showdowns,” the Washington Post reports.

“That internal Republican feud has increased the chances that Washington, for the second time in two years, could stumble into a shutdown of the federal government.”

“The speaker’s lieutenants are openly girding for battle with the small but influential bloc of anti-Boehner conservatives, who have signaled that if Boehner cuts any deal that they don’t like with Hill Democrats and President Obama, they could seek to remove him from the speaker’s post. It is a threat that Boehner and his allies are taking seriously.”