John Boehner knocks 'knuckleheads' in House Republican conference
Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) on Tuesday tried to explain why he has had trouble moving legislation through the House. "You might notice I have a few knuckleheads in my conference," he told the International Franchise Association.
"On any given day, 16 of my members decide they're going to go this way, and all the sudden I have nothing," he explained, referring to right-wing members of the House who have often clashed with the speaker. The GOP's majority in the lower chamber, he said, is a "paper majority."
This is not the first time that Boehner has lashed out at conservatives, who have often made life difficult for him. As recently as this summer, a conservative revolt forced the House Republican leadership to abandon a bill to address a humanitarian crisis at the border. The House eventually passed a bill that accommodated the conservatives' demands.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Ryu Spaeth is deputy editor at TheWeek.com. Follow him on Twitter.
-
‘The menu’s other highlights smack of the surreal’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Education: More Americans say college isn’t worth itfeature College is costly and job prospects are vanishing
-
One great cookbook: ‘More Than Cake’the week recommends The power of pastry brought to inspired life
-
Democrat files to impeach RFK Jr.Speed Read Rep. Haley Stevens filed articles of impeachment against Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
-
$1M ‘Trump Gold Card’ goes live amid travel rule furorSpeed Read The new gold card visa offers an expedited path to citizenship in exchange for $1 million
-
US seizes oil tanker off VenezuelaSpeed Read The seizure was a significant escalation in the pressure campaign against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro
-
Judge orders release of Ghislaine Maxwell recordsSpeed Read The grand jury records from the 2019 prosecution of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein will be made public
-
Miami elects first Democratic mayor in 28 yearsSpeed Read Eileen Higgins, Miami’s first woman mayor, focused on affordability and Trump’s immigration crackdown in her campaign
-
Ex-FBI agents sue Patel over protest firingspeed read The former FBI agents were fired for kneeling during a 2020 racial justice protest for ‘apolitical tactical reasons’
-
Trump unveils $12B bailout for tariff-hit farmersSpeed Read The president continues to insist that his tariff policy is working
-
Trump’s Comey case dealt new setbackspeed read A federal judge ruled that key evidence could not be used in an effort to reindict former FBI Director James Comey