Speaker John Boehner has announced through his office's aides that he will step down as House speaker and resign from Congress at the end of October. Boehner's resignation follows weeks of intense criticism by conservatives over the possibility of a government shutdown amid talks of defunding Planned Parenthood. Florida Rep. John Mica told CBS on Friday that Boehner "just does not want to become the issue. Some people have tried to make him the issue, both in Congress and outside."
Boehner has had a rocky relationship with the right wing of his House caucus for years, having taken over the speakership after the GOP's historic midterm rout of Democrats in 2010. He has become an object of contempt among many leading conservative voices over what they see as his failure to stick to conservative principles and score larger victories over Democrats. Upon news of Boehner's resignation, leading conservative Erick Erickson tweeted, "YAY!!!!!! Boehner is resigning."
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