Obama says goodbye to Boehner: 'Man, I'm gonna miss you'

It's the end of an era on Capitol Hill. With Paul Ryan officially replacing John Boehner as speaker of the House, now all that's left is for Boehner to say his goodbyes before he hops on a plane back to Ohio Friday, officially ending his nearly 25-year career in Congress.
In an expectedly teary exit interview with Fox News that aired on Friday, the outgoing speaker recounted one particularly memorable goodbye: His farewell with his longtime political adversary President Obama. In the Ohio Republican's retelling of their phone call this week, Obama said, "Boehner, man, I'm gonna miss you." Boehner's reply: "Yes, you are, Mr. President. Yes, you are."
Of course, it's not like these lawmakers were great pals; indeed, Obama and Boehner spent years clashing over everything from ObamaCare to the debt ceiling to immigration. "We had disagreements over all kinds of issues," Boehner said, "but we have a good relationship because I think it's essential that the leaders be able to work with each other, have a relationship, have some trust so we can do the nation's business." Watch Boehner's full farewell interview here.
Subscribe to 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.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Brazil has a scorpion problem
Under The Radar Venomous arachnids are infesting country's fast-growing cities
-
Why Rikers Island will no longer be under New York City's control
The Explainer A 'remediation manager' has been appointed to run the infamous jail
-
California may pull health care from eligible undocumented migrants
IN THE SPOTLIGHT After pushing for universal health care for all Californians regardless of immigration status, Gov. Gavin Newsom's latest budget proposal backs away from a key campaign promise
-
Trump vows to lift Syria sanctions
speed read The move would help the new government stabilize the country following years of civil war
-
Senate rejects Trump's Library of Congress takeover
speed read Congress resisted the president's attempts to control 'the legislative branch's premier research body'
-
Hamas frees US hostage in deal sidelining Israel
speed read Edan Alexander, a 21-year-old soldier, was the final living US citizen held by the militant group
-
White Afrikaners land in US as Trump-declared refugees
speed read An exception was made to Trump's near-total ban on admitting refugees for the white South Africans
-
Qatar luxury jet gift clouds Trump trip to Mideast
speed read Qatar is said to be presenting Trump with a $400 million plane, which would be among the biggest foreign gifts ever received by the US government
-
Trump taps Fox News' Pirro for DC attorney post
speed read The president has named Fox News host Jeanine Pirro to be the top federal prosecutor for Washington, replacing acting US Attorney Ed Martin
-
Trump, UK's Starmer outline first post-tariff deal
speed read President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Kier Starmer struck a 'historic' agreement to eliminate some of the former's imposed tariffs
-
Fed leaves rates unchanged as Powell warns on tariffs
speed read The Federal Reserve says the risks of higher inflation and unemployment are increasing under Trump's tariffs