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Boehner Scrambles for Plan B

February 27, 2015 at 6:21 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 55 Comments

“After 52 GOP lawmakers brought down a three-week spending bill for the agency, House Speaker John Boehner and his leadership team were scrambling Friday to find a way to keep the Department of Homeland Security from shutting down at midnight. The vote was a demonstration of the limits to Boehner’s authority, and one of the most humiliating setbacks of his time atop the Republican Conference,” Politico reports.

“There was no sense that Boehner would step down from the speakership, but leadership aides and key lawmakers didn’t reject the idea outright.”

Reid Won’t Move on Funding Bill Until Boehner Caves

February 24, 2015 at 3:25 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 64 Comments

“In an extraordinary sequence, Mitch McConnell offered Democrats Tuesday exactly what they have been asking for — ‘clean’ full-year funding for the Department of Homeland Security. And Harry Reid said no — or at least, not yet,” Roll Call reports.

“Majority Leader McConnell’s offer of passing a clean full-year Homeland Security bill through the Senate shorn of immigration provisions — which he said could happen very quickly with Democratic cooperation — was put on hold by Minority Leader Reid, who told reporters he was waiting to hear Speaker John A. Boehner agree to pass it through the House first.”

Said Reid: “We have to make sure that we get a bill to the president. Unless Boehner’s in on the deal, it won’t happen.”

Boehner Says He Would Allow Shutdown

February 16, 2015 at 7:40 am EST By Taegan Goddard 37 Comments

House Speaker John Boehner said that he was “prepared to allow funding for the Department of Homeland Security to lapse, raising the possibility that one of the government’s largest and most vital agencies could be shut down at the end of the month,” the New York Times reports.

“Coming just two months after Republicans gained full control of Congress, a shutdown would be a major political problem as the party tries to honor a vow to govern responsibly and cooperatively.”

“It would contradict a pledge from Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader, who said the day after his party won decisively at the polls in November, ‘There will be no government shutdowns.’ And it would exacerbate a rift that has been growing between Republicans in the House and the Senate.”

Boehner Snubs Obama While Inviting Netanyahu

January 21, 2015 at 5:38 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 58 Comments

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) “invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address a joint meeting of Congress on Feb. 11 — an invitation the White House called a breach of normal protocol,” Roll Call reports.

“Boehner said at a press conference that he did not consult the White House prior to sending out the invitation, as is customary when it comes to coordinating such joint sessions… Boehner told members of the Republican conference Wednesday that he wanted to send a clear message of support for Israel to the White House and to the world.”

Boehner’s Bartender Plotted to Poison Him

January 13, 2015 at 6:09 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 33 Comments

Michael Robert Hoyt was indicted on charges of threatening to murder the Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) in a plot authorities said included poisoning his drink at a country club, WCPO-TV reports.

GOP Lawmaker Slams Boehner

January 12, 2015 at 5:58 am EST By Taegan Goddard 1 Comment

Rep. Richard Nugent (R-FL) “is doubling down on his criticism of Speaker John Boehner, telling his constituents in a stunningly critical broadside that he doesn’t think Boehner should be running the House or has any respect for his leadership abilities,” Politico reports.

Some Told Boehner They Would Vote Against Him

January 9, 2015 at 12:18 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 32 Comments

Multiple sources told Roll Call that some Republican House members made Speaker John Boehner “aware of their intention to vote against him, and pleaded with the speaker to understand the political pressure they were under in their overwhelmingly red districts.”

“Exactly what was said or promised between Boehner and these members isn’t clear, but many members said they faced immense pressure from constituents to vote for someone else.”

What Color is John Boehner?

January 9, 2015 at 9:13 am EST By Taegan Goddard 23 Comments

The New York Times uploaded a high-resolution, tightly cropped picture of the perpetually-tanned Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) into the Sherwin-Williams Color Visualizer.

“Unfortunately, none of the colors we were able to identify using Photoshop’s eyedropper tool were a direct match in the Sherwin-Williams database of paint colors. But the Color Visualizer found us the closest matches: Spicy Hue and Husky Orange.”

Extra Bonus Quote of the Day

January 8, 2015 at 1:36 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 13 Comments

“During my years here when I voted, I had the eighth-most conservative voting record in the Congress, and it does pain me to be described as spineless or a squish. But what pains me the most is when they describe me as the establishment. I’m the most anti-establishment Speaker we’ve ever had.”

— Speaker John Boehner, quoted by The Hill.

Lawmaker Explains Why He Didn’t Try to Oust Boehner

January 7, 2015 at 7:32 am EST By Taegan Goddard 5 Comments

Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-SC) on Facebook: “There was an attempt to oust John Boehner as Speaker of the House today. I didn’t participate in it. That may make some people back home angry. I understand that, but I’ve got some experience with coup attempts against the Speaker, and what I learned two years ago factored heavily in my decision today not to join the mutiny.”

“First, I learned two years ago that people lie about how they are going to vote. And you cannot go into this kind of fight with people you do not trust. We walked onto the floor two years ago with signed pledges – handwritten promises – from more than enough people to deny Boehner his job. But when it came time to vote, almost half of those people changed their minds – including some of those who voted against Boehner today. Fool me once, shame on you… I also learned that the Floor of the House is the wrong place to have this battle.”

Boehner Puts Down Another Intra-Party Rebellion

January 6, 2015 at 4:26 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 22 Comments

“In a dramatic vote in which Republican dissidents staged yet another unsuccessful coup attempt, Speaker John A. Boehner was elected to a third term as speaker of the House,” Roll Call reports.

“Boehner won re-election with 216 of the 408 votes cast, as 25 Republicans voted for someone else or voted present in an act of protest. Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi received 164 Democratic votes, with four members of her party voting for someone other than the California Democrat.”

Boehner Faces Revolt Today

January 6, 2015 at 6:47 am EST By Taegan Goddard 13 Comments

“House Speaker John Boehner’s GOP opponents will try to take him down Tuesday. They are fighting against both the odds and history,” the Washington Post reports.

“The Ohio Republican faces reelection to his third term as leader of the House this afternoon, and he’s expected to face at least token opposition from conservatives in his own party; the latest whip count shows as many as 15 members could oppose Boehner. But that’s well shy of the minimum 29 needed to even bring Boehner to a second vote and throw his reelection into doubt — an outcome that still seems quite unlikely.”

New York Times: “Tuesday’s vote for the top House leadership post represents a reach for relevance by some rank-and-file conservative Republicans.”

National Journal: Anti-Boehner bloc looks for allies

Boehner Begins New Congress with Drama

January 5, 2015 at 9:59 am EST By Taegan Goddard 24 Comments

Rick Klein: “This was supposed to be the week that was about results, not process. But a rough holiday break removed that possibility from what was supposed to be a triumphal week for House Speaker John Boehner. Before he gets settled into a third term as speaker, he has one Republican member resigning after a felony conviction, and a top member of his leadership team under intense scrutiny for a not-really-that-long-ago speech in front of a white supremacist group. Then there’s the leadership challenge – a personal affront to Boehner, since the real time to run for House speaker would have been in GOP leadership elections shortly after Republicans expanded their majority to its new historic level. Ted Yoho/Louie Gohmert/Steve King won’t stop Boehner from continuing to serve as House speaker. But Boehner will once again have to tame the impulses of his own fractious conference, before his expanded House majority even votes on a bill. What’s that say about the year ahead?”

Bonus Quote of the Day

January 5, 2015 at 9:04 am EST By Taegan Goddard 4 Comments

“Well, I don’t think they’re very serious. And frankly, they’re pretty disappointing in the sense that anyone who wanted to run could have run in the conference elections and none of them did. So by going out and not voting for the conference choice, you’re not attacking John Boehner, you’re really attacking the Republican conference that you say you’re part of.”

— Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK), quoted by The Hill, on the GOP challenges to Speaker John Boehner (R-OH).

Gohmert Will Challenge Boehner for Speaker

January 4, 2015 at 12:33 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 39 Comments

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX)announced morning that he will challenge House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) to be the leader of the House Republicans, the Texas Tribune reports.

“Gohmert is, for now, likely a long-shot threat to Boehner. But two years ago, Boehner won re-election as speaker by one of the narrowest margins in modern history, thanks to a band of rebellious House Republicans.”

Some Conservatives Will Vote Against Boehner

December 30, 2014 at 9:29 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 2 Comments

“Some disaffected conservative House Republicans are planning to rebel and vote against John Boehner for speaker of the House when the new Congress convenes next week,” the Daily Caller reports.

“The official speaker’s election is set for Jan. 6., when the House will convene for a public floor vote to open the new Congress.”

Boehner Backs Scalise Amid Scandal

December 30, 2014 at 7:12 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 16 Comments

Speaker John Boehner expressed “full confidence” in Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA), the No. 3 Republican leader in the House, “as he sought to quell a racially charged controversy shaking the party after Mr. Scalise confirmed that he had addressed a white supremacist group a dozen years ago,” the New York Times reports.

“Mr. Boehner’s statement of support was his first public comment since the news broke on Monday night, a period filled with calls from some Republican and conservative commentators, as well as Democrats, for Republican leaders to shove Mr. Scalise from the leadership post. The flap roiled Republicans just as they were poised for a celebratory takeover of Congress when the new session opens next week.”

Who Actually Read the Bill?

December 11, 2014 at 11:39 am EST By Taegan Goddard 24 Comments

“As the House prepares to pass a trillion dollar, 1,603-page ‘cromnibus Thursday, at least one criticism can be applied to both Republicans and Democrats when the bill comes to a vote: few lawmakers — if any — will have read the entire thing,” Roll Call reports.

“It’s not that a $1.1 trillion piece of legislation can — or should — be written in 140 characters like a tweet, or as a 4,543-word document, such as the Constitution. But the cromnibus, coming in at 289,861 words, represents a particularly challenging public relations moment for members of Congress. It’s precisely the style of legislating that Speaker John A. Boehner ran against when he campaigned for the leadership job, vowing to give members at least 72 hours to read any measure before a vote. And it’s the manifestation of the proverbial backroom deals that have angered so many voters for so long.”