Boehner Re-Elected Speaker

Boehner Will Be Speaker For 113th Congress

Two more years of tears.

In a closer-than-usual vote, Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) was elected to a second term as Speaker of the House on Thursday, with 220 votes. Eight members of the Republican majority cast protest votes for others including Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA), former Rep. Allen West (R-FL), and former Comptroller General David Walker. Boehner will lead the 113th Congress with an eight-seat-smaller majority than in the 112th Congress.

Cantor came in a distant 3rd.

Vote: 426 total votes, Boehner 220, Pelosi 192, Labrador 1, Lewis 1, Cantor 3, West 2, Powell 1, Jordan 1, Walker 1, Cooper 2, Amash 1, Dingell 1.

As part of his next term Boehner has promised to not meet with President Obama in private:

Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) is signaling that at least one thing will change about his leadership during the 113th Congress: he’s telling Republicans he is done with private, one-on-one negotiations with President Obama…

The shift could have immediate ramifications as Congress heads into its next showdown over raising the debt ceiling and replacing steep automatic cuts to defense and domestic spending that are now set to take effect in March. It will also impact other presidential priorities like immigration reform and gun control.

Image by DonkeyHotey under Creative Commons license