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John Boehners official online biography as speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives boasts that he eliminated legislative pork spending and required bills to be posted three days before a vote.

Its not exactly the legacy of a Henry Clay or a Sam Rayburn. And this next term for Boehner probably wont do much to change that.

Boehner will enter his fifth year as the 53rd speaker of the House with a bigger majority and Republicans in control of the Senate, if as expected he survives a challenge to his re-election as speaker today from a handful of members who want him to take a firmer stance against President Barack Obama.

The Tea Party

In the new Congress, Boehners allies are pushing him to keep a tighter rein on his restive Tea Party caucus, as he did at the end of last year in averting a government shutdown. Doing so will limit his range for legislating and cutting deals in a divided government.

Boehner is promising action on a number of Republican priorities, though the next two years may be less about grand achievements and more about averting trouble for the party.

He is speaker in an era when simply keeping the government from shutting down is scored as an accomplishment, said Paul Brace, a political scientist at Rice University in Houston.

The question still becomes: Can Boehner cut a deal with the president without arousing strident opposition from the conservative caucus within his own party? Brace said. If Boehner cannot thread this needle, it seems unlikely he will produce a legacy based on legislative accomplishment.

First, Boehner must win re-election as speaker today. Some Republican detractors say he is too quick to compromise and they plan to oppose his hold on the gavel, though they acknowledge they are about a dozen votes short.

The end of 2014 brought a reminder of other challenges facing Boehner. Republican Michael Grimm of New York resigned after pleading guilty to a federal tax charge. Third-ranking Republican Steve Scalise of Louisiana acknowledged that his 2002 speech to a white supremacy group was a mistake I regret. Boehner promised continued support for the lawmaker.

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Boehners Restive Republican Caucus Hinders Bid to Build Legacy

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush on Tuesday announced the formation of a political action committee designed to lay the groundwork for a 2016 presidential campaign.

In a video posted in English and Spanish on Facebook, the Republican said that the "Right to Rise PAC" will allow him to "support candidates who believe in conservative principles to allow all Americans to rise up." An aide confirmed that the organization also allows Bush to hire staff, conduct polling, and pay for travel as he courts key donors and Republican officials across the country.

Bush telegraphed the formation of a PAC last month when he announced plans to actively explore a presidential bid. The announcement thrust Bush, the son and brother of former presidents, into the top-tier of likely Republican presidential contenders, although the field is expected to be crowded.

Tuesday's move also represents an effort to play catchup of sorts for Bush, who has been out of office since 2007.

Several potential Republican presidential candidates formed similar PACs months or even years ago. The group includes Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who have used political action committees to help build goodwill among other Republicans and build the infrastructure needed for a national campaign.

Bush's new organization is already adding high-profile operatives to his team. Rob Engstrom, political director at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, informed colleagues on Tuesday that he is moving to Florida to volunteer for the Right to Rise PAC.

At the same time, Bush allies on Tuesday formed a so-called super PAC with the same name that allows them to raise and spend unlimited sums of money as he moves toward a formal 2016 campaign. The group's treasurer, Charlie Spies, also served as treasurer for the super PAC dedicated to former GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney, which raised more than $142 million in the 2012 election.

Bush struck a populist tone in a message posted on his organization's new website, charging that "millions of our fellow citizens across the broad middle class feel as if the American Dream is now out of their reach ... that the playing field is no longer fair or level."

He continued: "Too many of the poor have lost hope that a path to a better life is within their grasp. While the last eight years have been pretty good ones for top earners, they've been a lost decade for the rest of America."

The message comes as Bush continues a private fundraising tour across the country. He is scheduled to meet with donors in Connecticut's wealthy suburbs later this week.

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Republican Jeb Bush Forms 'Right to Rise' PAC

Orrin Hatch has been here before. And he was here before that. And before that.

The Republicans are taking over the U.S. Senate again, and just as in 1981, 1995 and 2003, the lawyer from Utah will have a central role, this time as chairman of the Finance Committee that controls tax, trade and health policy.

Hatch will start the year by trying to expedite free-trade deals and repeal a tax on medical devices, while working on the long-term project of revising the U.S. tax code.

It wont be easy.

As Finance chairman, the 80-year-old Hatch must contend with hardliners in his own party and Democrats wary of giving Republicans a victory -- a combination that leaves little room for compromise. He may have less than a year to make a real impact before 2016 presidential election politics overwhelm Congress.

To succeed, hell draw on skills he used in the Senate while some of his colleagues were still in high school. In the 1980s and 1990s, he worked with Democrats to encourage manufacturers to make lower-cost generic drugs and expand legal protections for people with disabilities.

The senator doesnt have his name associated with lots of things that lose, said Russ Sullivan, former Democratic staff director for the Finance Committee, pointing to the 1997 talks that created the childrens health insurance program.

Sullivan recalled: Hatch gave one of the most memorable speeches, that hasnt been made public, to tell his Republican colleagues, This is going to happen. This bill is going to pass. Things are going to happen. So we should get in there and craft it the way we want to.

When theres a big bipartisan effort that fractures Republicans, Hatch is often involved in creating it or voting for it. He started his political career as a conservative upstart who got his break by winning Ronald Reagans support in a 1976 primary election.

Over time, hes moved from the partys ideological edges to its center.

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Hatchs Well-Worn Gavel to Shape Deals in Republican-Led Senate

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