U.S. House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio resigns from Congress, President Obama, House Minority Leader Pelosi, Congresswoman Fudge, and Ohio Democratic Party Chairman David Pepper comment....Obama praises Boehner as a patriot and a good man, Pelosi says that the GOP is in disarray, Fudge calls Boehner a public servant and seeks an end to partisan bickering, and Pepper wishes Boehner the best but tells Cleveland Urban News.Com that Boehner's resignation "is the clearest sign yet that the extremist wing of the Republican Party has taken over, created chaos and refused to govern...." ....A potential government shutdown and Plan Parenthood are at the center of the controversy....By Cleveland Urban News.Com Editor-in-Chief Kathy Wray Coleman
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United States House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner of Ohio (R-OH), who announced Sept. 25 that he will resign from Congress next month    From counter clockwise: United States President Barack Obama, U.S. Representative Nancy Pelosi of California (D-CA), U.S. Representative Marcia L. Fudge of Ohio's 11th congressional district, which includes the largely Black major American city of Cleveland and several of its eastern suburbs (D-OH), and Ohio Democratic Party Chairman David Pepper |
Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com. Coleman is a 22-year political, legal and investigative journalist who trained for 17 years, and under six different editors, at the Call and Post Newspaper in Cleveland, Ohio. (www.clevelandurbannews.com) /
WASHINGTON, D.C.- U.S. House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner of Ohio announced Friday morning that he will resign next month as Speaker of the House, and from Congress, a move that will avert next week's potential government shutdown that his fellow Republicans, some of the same ones that swept him to power and now want him gone, are pushing.
At the heart of the partisan controversy, which again puts the pivotal state of Ohio in the international spotlight, is a government spending bill that passed the House this week that would temporarily fund the government, but also provides funding for Planned Parenthood, the latter of which Republicans in Congress, unlike the Democrats, vehemently oppose.
Boehner can now introduce proposed legislation on a revised spending bill that originated n the House, which is expected to hit the House floor on Monday, without the threat of ouster as Speaker of the House.
A barkeeper's son who rose from humble beginnings to one of the most notable offices in federal government, Boehner, 65 and House Speaker since 2011, said Friday that it " had become clear to me that this prolonged leadership turmoil would do irreparable harm to the institution.”
He was narrowly re-elected speaker in January of this year amid disfavor among Tea Party members of Congress toting a far right wing congressional agenda. His efforts to stop the latest shutdown were met with opposition from Republicans tired of what they say are public fiscal and other policy stances strained by his ambivalence on key conservative matters and his propensity to lean politically to the middle.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California, whom he ousted to become speaker, had little empathy. She said Friday that Bohener's departure is "an indication of disarray in [the] GOP."
President Obama was diplomatic and praised Boehner, who took heat from congressional Republicans hellbent on an ultraconservative form of government, as a patriot, a change agent, and "a good man."
Congresswoman Marcia L. Fudge, a Warrensville Heights Democrat representing Ohio's largely Black 11th Congressional District, which includes the majority Black major metropolitan city of Cleveland and several of its eastern suburbs, issued a statement Friday evening on Boehner's resignation, and thanked him for his commitment as a "public servant."
But Fudge, who is Black, also said that ongoing partisan bickering has stalled progress in Congress, and that the central problem is the "far right wing of the House Republican caucus"
And the congresswoman urged her colleagues in Congress "to put partisan politics aside and work together for the good of all Americans.”
A U.S. Representative from Ohio's 8th congressional district, which includes several rural and suburban areas near Cincinnati and Dayton, Boehner has served in Congress since 1991.
At home in Ohio, the response to the surprise news of Boehner's quick exist from the political forum was one of numbness by some, and ambivalence by others.
Ohio Democratic Party Chairman David Pepper said in a press release to Cleveland Urban News.Com, Ohio's most read digital Black newspaper, that while he wishes the best to Boehner, the House speaker's downfall is proof that Republican extremists now control Congress, and that congressional Democrats must focus on his successor.
“We wish Speaker Boehner the best as he moves on and tackles the next phase in his life, and we look forward to a spirited campaign to succeed him in the House,"said Pepper.“The Speaker’s resignation is the clearest sign yet that the extremist wing of the Republican Party has taken over, created chaos and refused to govern."
Perspective House Republicans slated to seek to succeed Boehner include Kevin McCarthy of California, Jeb Hernsarling of Texas, Tom Price of Georgia, and Steve Scalisa of Louisiana.
Republicans control both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate.
(www.clevelandurbannews.com) /
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