Boehner throws in the towel

At one of the most crucial and turbulent times in Congress this year John Boehner, majority Speaker of the House, confirmed that he will indeed resign from Congress at then October after all the speculations and rumors. The Ohio Republican, who has been a member of congress for the past 25 years and has resided over the house since 2011, has been under fire since taking the gavel by a divided government and fractious and increasingly conservative Republicans. 

This resignation is proof that things are far from great in Congress today. With approval ratings nearly at rock bottom and with either party showing any support for one another it seemed like a lost cause for Boehner to try and get anything done especially with the budget deadline looming and the threat of another government shutdown becoming more of a reality. 

The big question is why resign now at one of the most crucial periods in Congress this year? Boehner has stated that the big reason was he tried to get Congress, mostly the Republican Party, to get along but to no avail. After the Popes spoke at Capitol Hill Boehner hoped that Congress would take the advice given by the Pope and live the golden rule while also to try and find "common ground to get things done." He tried so hard to find a solution to keep Congress open but many conservatives told him that they would not vote on any bill that didn't defund planned parenthood. Democratic speaker Nancy Pelosi felt that his resignation was "seismic for the House".  She also stated that it was a stark indication of the disarray of House Republicans and of the far rights "hi-jacking" of the Republican Party. 

The reaction of the news was shocking and almost all positive from members of Congress, including President Obama, viewed Boehner in a positive manner. President Obama stated that even though they had a lot of disagreements and he was on the opposite side of the spectrum but he always conducted himself with courtesy and civility with the president. Nancy Pelosi stated that while Boehner has resigned she will continue to exclusively negotiate with Boehner about planned parenthood. Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania stated that the next speaker is going to have a very though job because it's never going to get any easier and that he also blames the right-winged members who were unwilling to govern saying "They can't get to yes." But not all were sad that he was leaving.

Michael Needham, who is the chief executive of Heritage Action which is a policy arm of the conservative Heritage Foundation, stated that America deserves a congress that fights for all and not for favoritism. “Too often, Speaker Boehner has stood in the way. Today’s announcement is a sign that the voice of the American people is breaking through in Washington. Now is the time for a principled, conservative leader to emerge. Heritage Action will continue fighting for conservative policy solutions and we look forward to working with the new leadership team.”

Finally, while in search for a new speaker, it has been hinted that Majority House leader Kevin McCarthy of California would be the new speaker who is widely viewed more favorably by the more conservative members. If McCarthy becomes the new House speaker Congress may never agree on anything for a while. 

http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/25/politics/john-boehner-resigning-as-speaker/

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/26/us/john-boehner-to-resign-from-congress.html

http://www.rollcall.com/news/boehner_quits_mccarthy_seen_as_successor-243839-1.html?pos=hftxt