Boehner’s departure raises question: Can House GOP be led?

WASHINGTON— The gulf between tea party conservatives and establishment Republicans has grown so wide that it just swallowed up the speaker of the House and may threaten the entire Republican Party and Congress itself.

The question now is whether anyone can tame the House’s rabble-rousing faction, following Speaker John Boehner’s decision to resign rather than face a possible vote to depose him. The stakes are sky-high, given the critical deadlines looming to keep the government running and raise the nation’s borrowing limit.

Yet with the GOP presidential contest riding an anti-establishment wave, it’s become practically compulsory for the candidates to denounce Republican congressional leaders at the first sign of compromise. That makes deal-making that much tougher in Congress— even as some fear it could harm the party’s chances at the White House.

The long-running drama of establishment vs. insurgency played out anew Friday on Capitol Hill as tea party conservatives cheered Boehner’s announcement that he will leave his job at the end of October. The move will ensure that the government stays open into December because the 13-term Ohio lawmaker rejected conservative demands to dare President Barack Obama to veto a government spending bill that cuts money for Planned Parenthood.

But Boehner’s announcement only puts off that fight and others, and promises a chaotic leadership struggle that may result in new leaders facing the same fundamental problem: a core group of 30 or so conservative lawmakers repulsed by compromise and commanding enough votes to stymie leadership plans, despite the GOP’s large majority.

“You’re going to have a new speaker who is going to have to wonder if he or she is going to be the next person losing their head,” said Rep. Bill Flores, R-Texas. “We are a tough group to lead. We are a really tough group to lead.”

Boehner made his announcement the day after meeting with members of the House Freedom Caucus, a group of hardliners dedicated to fighting for conservative principles at any cost. Several of those lawmakers informed Boehner they would support a floor vote to oust him from his speakership.

Rather than put the House through the turmoil of such a vote, which hadn’t been tried in over 100 years, Boehner told stunned lawmakers he would leave Congress next month. He endorsed his deputy, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California. McCarthy is favored to prevail, though he quickly drew a challenger in Rep. Daniel Webster, R-Fla., a former speaker of the House in Florida who unsuccessfully challenged Boehner earlier this year.

Boehner’s announcement delighted hardline conservatives even as it dismayed many more establishment-minded members. Later, many of these lawmakers urged strategies to neutralize the hardline crowd and short-circuit their tactics. Two years ago, those tactics resulted in a 16-day partial government shutdown over Obama’s health care law; most Republicans believe that impasse damaged their party.

“I’m sure some of those guys have Cheshire grins right now,” said Rep. Charlie Dent, R-Pa. He advocated a strong line against them: “‘If you’re not willing to govern, we will make you marginal and irrelevant and we will find those who will help us.”’

Said Rep. Pat Tiberi, R-Ohio, a Boehner ally: “We have to govern here. We don’t get to go on talk radio and say whatever we want.”

Yet Boehner’s move seemed only to embolden the hardliners. Several on Capitol Hill and off suggested that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., would be their next target, and the group Tea Party Patriots began circulating a petition calling for his removal.

McConnell had pledged that the GOP Congress would show voters that Republicans can govern in the runup to the 2016 elections. But conservatives complain that the GOP takeover of the Senate this year has not yielded results, and now a House run by less-proven leaders may test McConnell’s promise once more.

“Mitch McConnell is infinitely worse as a leader than Boehner. He surrenders at the sight of battle every time,” said Rep. Matt Salmon, R-Ariz., one of the rebels. “We made a lot of promises to the American people that if we took the Senate that we would do certain things and those things have not been accomplished.”

Democrats were at turns gleeful at the GOP discomfort and grim over the future turmoil it portends. Some lawmakers in both parties hope Boehner will use the month remaining in his tenure to jam through politically painful votes, including highway funding legislation and a renewal of the Export-Import Bank, which Republicans allowed to expire this year.

“These people don’t want government. They just want their way or the highway,” said Rep. Bill Pascrell, D-N.J. He said those who have challenged Boehner are “not going to be satisfied until there is total chaos.”

The situation has come about even as Republican leaders and outside groups such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce have worked diligently in recent cycles to elect mainstream candidates, not fringe tea partyers. They can claim successes, particularly in the Senate. But in the House, hardline conservatives may continue to upset leaders’ plans to advance a governing agenda, even with a new speaker.

“The disagreements within the conference have never been about John Boehner’s personality, they’ve been disagreements over tactics,” said David Schnittger, Boehner’s former longtime deputy chief of staff. “And they’re probably going to continue.”

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

The rezoned property, seen here from the Hillside Vista luxury development, is surrounded on two sides by modern neighborhoods Monday, March 25, 2024, in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Despite petition, Lake Stevens OKs rezone for new 96-home development

The change faced resistance from some residents, who worried about the effects of more density in the neighborhood.

Rep. Suzan DelBene, left, introduces Xichitl Torres Small, center, Undersecretary for Rural Development with the U.S. Department of Agriculture during a talk at Thomas Family Farms on Monday, April 3, 2023, in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Under new federal program, Washingtonians can file taxes for free

At a press conference Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene called the Direct File program safe, easy and secure.

Former Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy Jeremie Zeller appears in court for sentencing on multiple counts of misdemeanor theft Wednesday, March 27, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ex-sheriff’s deputy sentenced to 1 week of jail time for hardware theft

Jeremie Zeller, 47, stole merchandise from Home Depot in south Everett, where he worked overtime as a security guard.

Everett
11 months later, Lake Stevens man charged in fatal Casino Road shooting

Malik Fulson is accused of shooting Joseph Haderlie to death in the parking lot at the Crystal Springs Apartments last April.

T.J. Peters testifies during the murder trial of Alan Dean at the Snohomish County Courthouse on Tuesday, March 26, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Bothell cold case trial now in jury’s hands

In court this week, the ex-boyfriend of Melissa Lee denied any role in her death. The defendant, Alan Dean, didn’t testify.

A speed camera facing west along 220th Street Southwest on Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2023 in Edmonds, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Washington law will allow traffic cams on more city, county roads

The move, led by a Snohomish County Democrat, comes as roadway deaths in the state have hit historic highs.

Mrs. Hildenbrand runs through a spelling exercise with her first grade class on the classroom’s Boxlight interactive display board funded by a pervious tech levy on Tuesday, March 19, 2024 in Marysville, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lakewood School District’s new levy pitch: This time, it won’t raise taxes

After two levies failed, the district went back to the drawing board, with one levy that would increase taxes and another that would not.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.