Tea Party critics will hold noses, vote for Boehner as Speaker
No one rose up to challenge House Speaker John Boehner this fall. Now, even his staunchest GOP critics say theyll end up voting Thursday afternoon to give the Ohio Republican another two years with no other options out there.
Even some of the dozen conservatives who launched a failed bid to oust Boehner in early 2013 said theyre sticking with the current leadership team, which includes Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.).
Challenges to leadership are very unusual in the history of Congress, and the Speaker and his team have done a great job of raising money, Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-Kan.) said in an interview Thursday. Im planning to vote for him later today.
Another conservative critic, Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.), has committed to backing Boehner, saying he feels the leadership team has finally begun to listen to input from the right. And Rep. Ral Labrador (R-Idaho), who challenged McCarthy for the No. 2 job earlier this summer, said he has no plans to shake up the current leadership team.
But several Tea Party Republicans signaled that theyll be holding their noses as they cast a ballot for Boehner in a closed-door meeting in the Cannon House Office Building.
Conservative Rep. Matt Salmon (R-Ariz.) said he was voting for Boehner because theres really not any other options. Huelskamp refused to commit to voting for Boehner in a second vote in January on the House floor, saying thats an issue for next year, and we havent got that far.
And one of the most outspoken Boehner foes, Rep. Walter Jones (R-N.C.), said he would probably end up voting to give the Speaker a third term but would wait until the last minute to make his decision.
I want to see if there are any opportunities, Jones told The Hill. If there are no opportunities, then I will end up supporting leadership. If there are opportunities, then I will consider opportunities.
Rep.-elect Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.) stated plainly on the campaign trail that he wouldn't support Boehner for Speaker. But as he arrived on Capitol Hill Wednesday for freshman orientation, he was backing off that pledge, suggesting he'd get behind whoever won the leadership elections.
"I don't know if anybody else is running. That's the only one I know is running at this time," Loudermilk said of Boehner. "Whoever comes out of that conference, we're going to be behind."
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Tea Party critics will hold noses, vote for Boehner as Speaker