John Boehner re-elected as Speaker of the House, Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, was re-elected as House Speaker Tuesday, defeating handful of challenges from the far right of his party.
Boehner received a majority of votes on the first ballot, 216, with 24 Republicans voting against him and one Republican voting "present." 408 members voted.
Three Republicans were formally nominated as alternatives to Boehner: Reps. Louie Gohmert of Texas and Ted Yoho and Daniel Webster of Florida. During the voting process, members offered up a few other names as well: Reps. Jeff Duncan of South Carolina and Jim Jordan of Ohio, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, and former Secretary of State Colin Powell, among others.
Webster received 12, the highest number of votes for a Republican behind Boehner. Gohmert received three, Yoho two, and Jordan two. One vote each was cast for Duncan, Paul, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-California, Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-South Carolina, and Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Alabama.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-California, also received 164 votes, mostly from Democrats. A few Democrats voted for other members of their party, a reflection of the tension created during the debate over the spending bill last month. One vote each was cast for Powell and Reps. Jim Cooper, D-Tennessee, Peter DeFazio, D-Oregon and John Lewis, D-Georgia.
Boehner had been sailing toward a clean re-election as speaker after successfully winning re-election among his Republican colleagues in November. But over the weekend, a handful of conservative members began announcing they would not support Boehner, and a few stepped forward to offer their names as possible alternatives.
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The chief objection to Boehner's continued speakership appeared to be his handling of the lame-duck session of Congress. Some members who objected to his handling of the $1.1 trillion spending bill that squeaked through Congress during December, averting a potential government shutdown.
"Republicans gave away the best tool available to rein in our liberal activist President: the power of the purse," said Rep. Jim Bridenstine, R-Oklahoma, last Friday, the first member to announce he would not be voting to re-elect Boehner. Bridenstine called the measure a failure because it did not defund President Obama's Affordable Care Act or try to block him from deferring deportation for millions of illegal immigrants. Others, including Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Kentucky, said the leadership intentionally introduced the bill at the last minute to coerce members to vote for it.
He faced a similar conservative insurrection in 2013 when morale among the GOP was far lower, fresh off Mr. Obama's re-election. Boehner won his 2013 election for speaker with 220 votes, six more than he needed. The next-closest candidate was then-House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Virginia, who received three votes.
Three Republicans who voted against Boehner in 2013 -- Reps. Jordan, Raul Labrador of Idaho and Mick Mulvaney of South Carolina -- ended up voting for him this time.
The Republican majority grew by 12 members during the 2014 midterms, giving Boehner a few more potential supporters and some breathing room. But some members, including members who would have supported him, were unable to make it back to D.C. for the vote due to inclement weather.
