Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner Resigns

On Friday, September 25th, Speaker of the House John Boehner announced that he would resign from his position in October. This came in the midst of controversy surrounding Boehner, as conservatives pushed the speaker to be more confrontational towards Obama’s policies. Instead of attempting to stop a Republican revolt, Boehner decided to step down as Speaker.

Boehner actually planned to resign on his 66th birthday in November 17th, but after the historic visit by Pope Francis, Boehner decided that he would resign the day after the Pope’s address to congress. “I decided today is the day I’m going to do this. Simple as that,” Boehner said, trying to hold back his emotions.

According to The Washington Post, his hold as Speaker was loosening when 30 Republicans pledged a no-confidence vote against him, which would cause Boehner to rely on Democrat votes. This would have just weakened his standing with the Republican Party, and its representatives.

Tensions grew towards Boehner, as the controversial bill that would fund Planned Parenthood grew closer. Republicans plan to do anything possible to stop funding for the organization, even if it means imposing a government shutdown if their requests aren’t met. According to The Atlantic, Boehner planned to hold the party together, but the Republican Party threatened to call a vote to oust him out of the chair if he was to not agree with their policies.  The last time a shutdown occurred was from October 1 until 16, in 2013, when government funding ceased.

Boehner was elected in 2010 by a wave of Tea Party candidate votes. He served for five years, constantly being pushed to aggressively attack policies imposed by the Democrats. However, Boehner, a dealmaker, did not always comply with the party’s requests.

According to The New York Times, President Obama was surprised by the news, and even said “John Boehner’s a good man. A patriot.” He said that Boehner was always a man of courtesy, and always kept his promise. Obama welcomed yet warned the next speaker to not shut down the government, and hopes that the next speaker to be like Boehner, and realize “You don’t get what you want 100% of the time.”

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy was likely to have been Boehner’s successor; however on Thursday, October 8, McCarthy announced that he would be dropping out of the race to be Speaker. Boehner said that he would continue to hold the Speaker chair until a new Speaker is elected. The date for voting has yet to be announced.

Boehner was first elected to the House in 1990, where he, as well as other Republican representatives, helped uncover a banking scandal, and a post office scandal. He left office in 1998, but soon rejoined under the Bush administration, where his popularity soared after helping pass the No Child Left Behind bill. He was elected minority leader, then finally majority leader in 2010. From there, he would be elected three more times and lead the Republican Party. He would be known for working across party lines, and taking moderate approaches to issues.

Surely his accumulated experience and wisdom will be sorely missed. However, according to The Guardian, when news broke of Boehner’s resignation, Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio said, “It is time to turn the page and allow a new generation of leaders.”