Republican House Re-Elects John Boehner As Speaker

Posted by | January 3, 2013 14:19 | Filed under: Top Stories


In spite of a handful of conservative dissenters, John Boehner was re-elected House Speaker at the beginning of the 113th Congress.

While Boehner won re-election to the speakership with the overwhelming support of the GOP, he also narrowly avoided the 16 total defections from fellow Republicans that would have triggered a second ballot of House lawmakers on electing a speaker. That would have been the first time a second ballot was needed since 1923, and a mild embarrassment for Boehner…

Boehner earned enemies from a handful of Republican congressman after the Republican steering committee stripped them of plum committee spots after they were deemed “not team players.” Kansas Rep. Tim Huelskamp, one of the four rogue Republicans, has almost made it a personal mission since then to highlight Boehner’s difficulties with conservatives.

…the leaders best-positioned to challenge Boehner – Cantor, Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., or even Wisconsin Rep. and former vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan – closed ranks around the speaker, tasking Boehner for another two years with one of the most unenviable tasks in Washington: managing the House Republican Conference.

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Copyright 2013 Liberaland
By: Alan

Alan Colmes is the publisher of Liberaland.