“I look forward to a situation where when the phone rings, I won’t be apprehensive that it’s some problem I have to deal with: some crisis — maybe that somebody else has done something stupid that I have to deal with, or in the worst case, something stupid I’ve done that I have to deal with.”

— Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), quoted by Politico, on his retirement from Congress.

Norm Ornstein notes that ff 17 Republicans vote for someone other than John Boehner as speaker, “the House will be thrown into turmoil — no elected speaker, and the prospect of additional ballots and a whole lot of intrigue before the new speaker is chosen and sworn in.”

“What if Boehner doesn’t survive? Go to Article I, Section 2: The Constitution does not say that the speaker of the House has to be a member of the House. In fact, the House can choose anybody a majority wants to fill the post. Every speaker has been a representative from the majority party. But these days, the old pattern clearly is not working.”

Rep. Ralph Hall (R-TX) earned the distinction of being the oldest lawmaker to ever serve in the House of Representatives, ABC Radio reports.

Hall eclipsed the record previously held by Rep. Charles Manley Stedman, who was also 89 when he died in September 1930.

“Several conservative House Republican members are contemplating a plan to unseat Speaker John Boehner from his position on January 3,” Breitbart News reports.

“Staffers have compiled a detailed action plan that, if executed, could make this a reality… Dissatisfaction with Boehner is growing in the House Republican conference, but until now there hasn’t been a clear path forward.”

Fox News: A look at Boehner’s future as House leader.

Steve Kornacki: “Last night was hardly the first public humiliation that John Boehner has suffered at the hands of his fellow Republicans, but it’s probably the most stark. And it raises some very basic questions about the House speaker’s political future – like whether he even has one.”

“The demise of Plan B also calls Boehner’s job security into question. The Obama-era conservative base has never trusted him; he’s been in Washington too long, he cut too many pre-2008 deals with Democrats, and he voted for too much spending. Since he claimed the speaker’s gavel, they’ve been watching him like a hawk for any sign he’s about to sell them out, virtually eliminating his ability to cut deals on their behalf. What happened last night indicates that this dynamic hasn’t changed since the election, and with the January 3 vote for speaker coming up, there is some chatter now that House conservatives might attempt to dethrone Boehner.”

First Read notes “it seems to us that the only person who’s capable of toppling Boehner
right now is Paul Ryan. But does he — or anyone else — want that job?”

“What I won’t miss are the 20 people in their pajamas who go on Cleveland.com anonymously and feel that the world is just dying for their snarky, stupid comments.”

— Rep. Steve LaTourette (R-OH) telling Cleveland.com what he won’t miss when he retires from the House of Representatives in January.

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) said he’s “not concerned about his job as Speaker as he seeks a deficit deal with President Obama that could face opposition from conservative members of his conference,” The Hill reports.

Said Boehner: “I’m not concerned about my job as Speaker. What I’m concerned about is doing the right thing for our kids and grandkids. And if we don’t fix this spending problem, their future is going to be rather bleak.”

There’s been speculation in recent days that Boehner won’t cut a deal until after he wins re-election as Speaker in early January.

Wall Street Journal: “The unruly freshman class of 2010 has thwarted Mr. Boehner numerous times during his two years as speaker. To bolster his position, Mr. Boehner has been slowly bringing Republican freshmen to his side by introducing them to the realities of legislating and congressional leadership. Mr. Boehner’s strategy, and his future as speaker, will get tested between now and year-end as Washington wrestles with negotiations designed to avert tax increases and spending cuts due to begin in early January.”

“Boehner has used both carrot and stick to unify his ranks, lawmakers said. Rep. Steve Southerland, a voluble freshman, got a job managing a transportation bill. Three freshmen who continued to defy the House leadership on key votes got booted from plum committees. Others learned the limits of their power by watching bills the House passed disappear in the Senate.”

“Boehner mended fences with his No. 2, Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA), after the two repeatedly clashed over various budget negotiations, aides to both men said. He has made an overt effort to cultivate Rep. Paul Ryan, chairman of the House budget committee and Mitt Romney’s running mate. Mr. Ryan didn’t embrace Mr. Boehner’s efforts to negotiate a deficit deal in 2011. This year, he is sitting in on Mr. Boehner’s daily strategy session and has endorsed the speaker’s plan to raise fresh tax revenue.”

Should a deal to avert the fiscal cliff “go sour,” National Review reports the buzz is that Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) may challenge House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) for the speaker’s gavel.

Said one aide close to the House leadership: “Price is the person we’re all watching. We know he’s frustrated, but we don’t know much else.”

Sources with knowledge of the federal investigation into Jesse Jackson Jr. told the Chicago Sun-Times that investigators believe the former lawmaker had learned of the federal scrutiny of his financial activity prior to his June 10 medical leave from Congress.

Three women AIDS activists saying they wanted to highlight the ”naked truth” about potential spending cuts in HIV programs were arrested after taking their clothes off in the lobby of House Speaker John Boehner’s office, the AP reports.

TPM has some of their chants: “Boehner, Boehner, don’t be a dick, budget cuts will make us sick.” And: “Budget cuts are really rude, that’s why we have to be so lewd.”

BuzzFeed has photos.

Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL) said his former colleague and friend Jesse Jackson Jr. still “can’t take the pressure” of speaking publicly about his resignation, the Chicago Sun Times reports.

Said Rush: “Some moments he would be very articulate, very flowing with his thoughts, very much in control and command, but then at the drop of the hat, he just started crying.”

Jackson, who is under treatment for bipolar depression, resigned from Congress last week in the midst of a federal investigation into his campaign finances.

Rep. Scott DesJarlais (R-TN) told the Knoxville News Sentinel that he “never intentionally misled voters about his past and stressed that he has no plans to resign over recent revelations that depict a private life starkly at odds with his public image as an anti-abortion, family values congressman.”

In his first extensive remarks since the release of a court transcript from his 14-year-old divorce, DesJarlais conceded that he often used “very poor judgment” during his first marriage and said he is not the same man who supported his first wife’s decision to have two abortions.

The physician-turned-lawmaker said he also deeply regrets sexual relationships with multiple women, including two patients and three co-workers.

Rep. Jesse Jackson (D-IL) has resigned from Congress,
submitting his letter of resignation to House Speaker John Boehner this afternoon, the Chicago Sun Times reports.

“Jackson is embroiled in a federal investigation into his campaign accounts, and multiple sources have said he is trying to negotiate a deal with the feds. No such deal is in place, however, a source said.”

Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-IL) “reportedly had planned to break his silence Wednesday during a morning conference call with staff but changed his mind,” NBC Chicago reports.

There apparently was some concern the media would join the call.

Jackson was last seen in June before he disappeared on medical leave. Since then he has been diagnosed with bipolar depression and has been the subject of a federal probe.

Smart Politics finds that when the 113th Congress convenes in January, 29.4% of the Democratic caucus will hail from either California or New York  — up from a previous all-time high of 28.1% recorded after the Republican tsunami of 2010.

“While California and New York are two of the three most populous states in the country, it is important to note that the number of representatives from the two states collectively has remained relatively flat over the last 50 years. Since 1962, New York and California have accounted for between no less than 18.2 percent and no more than 19.1 percent of all seats in the nation’s lower legislative chamber.”

A new Gallup Poll finds 65% of Americans believe President Obama will make a sincere effort to work with the Republicans in Congress to find mutually acceptable solutions to the nation’s problems. In addition, 57% also expect the Democrats in Congress to try to work with the opposing party’s leaders, but just 48% say the same of the Republicans.

While the campaign trappings and the high profile of the national campaign are behind him, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) “now finds himself at the center of one of the biggest fiscal negotiations in a generation,” the New York Times reports.

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) has tapped Ryan “to help strike a deal to avoid big tax increases and spending cuts by the end of the year, and to bring along fellow Republicans.”

“The test will be whether Mr. Ryan — who declined last year to sit on another Congressional committee charged with taming the deficit, in large part because doing so might have hurt his prospects for national office — can make the transition from House budget philosopher to governing heavyweight who can help negotiate a bipartisan deal and sell it to his colleagues.”