By Justin M. Flores ‘19:
On Friday, September 25, Republican House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) announced he would be stepping down from his post at the end of October. This came as a surprise and exposed the deep tensions within the Republican Party over the use of its congressional majority. Tensions grew weeks before the speaker’s resignation as Congress was nearing the October 1 Appropriations bill deadline (interim funding is in place until Dec. 11).
Boehner, seen as a moderate in today’s GOP, was pushed by right-wing conservatives to take on a more confrontational approach with President Obama over issues such as government spending, abortion, immigration, and Obamacare. However, Boehner failed to meet these demands, arguing that such goals are completely unrealistic in a divided government.
After news of Boehner’s resignation became public, members of Congress reacted to varying degrees. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) called Boehner’s resignation “a stark indication of the disarray” among House Republicans. Pelosi’s statement seemed an accurate assessment of the GOP landscape, which was confirmed after key Republicans made their statements. Paul Ryan (R-WI), Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, called Boehner's resignation "an act of pure selflessness," whereas Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) claimed, "The country will be better served with a strong conservative speaker."
However, the most intriguing comment came from the White House. Despite being on opposite ends of the political spectrum, President Obama spoke very highly of the speaker, referring to Boehner as a “good man” and even a “patriot.” Furthermore, the President highlighted Boehner’s ability to compromise, explaining, “I think, maybe most importantly, that he is somebody who understands that in government, in governance, you don't get 100% of what you want, but you have to work with people who you disagree with, sometimes strongly, in order to do the people's business."
Boehner’s resignation most likely marks the end of an era of moderate Republicans who seek to compromise with Democrats. Over the past few years, Republicans have been leaning farther right with the rise of the Tea Party caucus and it now seems as though they have finally gained enough leverage over the traditional Republican Party. This far-right mentality against the establishment has been further exemplified recently after House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), the favorite to succeed Speaker Boehner, was unable to garner enough votes within his party to become speaker.
The formidable split between establishment-minded lawmakers and the hard-line conservatives has created plenty of confusion and uncertainty within the Republican Party. Keeping this in mind, the next speaker will most likely be an unyielding hard-line conservative that better reflects the rightward shift of the party, even if that raises the risk of a prolonged government shutdown.
Sources:http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/25/politics/president-obama-john-boehner-patriot/http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2015/09/25/boehner-resigns/http://bigstory.ap.org/article/4bdaf92d6cfe4fbea4b6416dda475ed9/boehner-resignation-spurs-reaction-across-politicalhttp://www.cnn.com/2015/09/30/politics/government-shutdown-2015-funding-vote-senate-continuing-resolution/http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/26/us/politics/kevin-mccarthy-expected-to-seek-speaker-john-boehners-post.html