UPDATE @ 1:15 p.m.:
During a 1 p.m. press conference, Boehner said originally he was going to make the announcement on his birthday, Nov. 17. But after meeting with Pope Francis, praying and sleeping on it for a night, Boehner decided “today’s the day I’m going to do this.”
Boehner, who’s been in politics over 25 years, said he’s succeeded in large part because of the team he put together.
“This isn’t about me. It’s about the people, it’s about the institution,” Boehner said.
Boehner’s two girls, now grown women at ages 35 and 37, had their first campaign photo in 1981.
“It’s one thing for me to have to endure it; I have thick skin. My girls and wife have had to put up with a lot,” Boehner said.
He said the greatest thing about his job has been meeting thousands of people from his district.
At the beginning and end of his press conference, Boehner, visibly emotional at times, was singing lines from “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah.”
“It’s been an honor to serve in this institution,” Boehner said.
UPDATE @ noon:
House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) released this statement today:
“My mission every day is to fight for a smaller, less costly, and more accountable government. Over the last five years, our majority has advanced conservative reforms that will help our children and their children. I am proud of what we have accomplished.
“The first job of any Speaker is to protect this institution that we all love. It was my plan to only serve as Speaker until the end of last year, but I stayed on to provide continuity to the Republican Conference and the House. It is my view, however, that prolonged leadership turmoil would do irreparable damage to the institution. To that end, I will resign the Speakership and my seat in Congress on October 30.
“Today, my heart is full with gratitude for my family, my colleagues, and the people of Ohio’s Eighth District. God bless this great country that has given me — the son of a bar owner from Cincinnati — the chance to serve.”
Facing another revolt from an unruly caucus and the possibility of yet another government shutdown, House Speaker John Boehner abruptly announced today he will resign from the House at the end of October.
Boehner told a stunned GOP caucus at a closed-doors meeting that he will resign – a decision that even some close confidantes didn’t know until minutes before he announced it.
The West Chester Republican reportedly planned only to serve through the end of last year, but decided to stay after Majority Leader Eric Cantor lost his 2014 primary election.
“The speaker believes putting members through prolonged leadership turmoil would do irreparable damage to the institution,” an aide said.
His news shocked Rep. Steve Stivers, R-Upper Arlington, was sitting next to Rep Pat Tiberi, R-Genoa Township when Boehner made his announcement.
“Neither one of us knew ahead of time,” he said.
Boehner, the golf-loving, perpetually tanned son of a Cincinnati-area bartender, was elected to Congress in 1991. He was elected majority leader in 2005 and speaker in 2011.
The former Ohio House member had set his sights on leadership almost from the moment he entered the House, with a portrait of Cincinnati native Nicholas Longworth, the last Ohioan to serve in the No. 3 post of the federal government, hanging in his personal office.
“I think he believed it was time,” said Dave Schnittger, a former aide to Boehner. He said Boehner had planned to make an announcement on his birthday in November, but later “moved the timetable to Oct. 30.”
Boehner had long clashed with conservative Republicans in the House, including Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Urban, whose Ohio district adjoins his. Ohio Gov. John Kasich has likened the relationship Boehner had with conservatives to “herding cats.”
Many times, his willingness to seek compromise earned him the ire of Tea Party members of his caucus, who argued his negotiations ultimately sacrificed many of their ideals.
But his supporters said that anyone in that position would face criticism, and that the right wing would never be satisfied with a negotiator.
“What we gave up was an adult in the room,” said Stivers. “I hope we can get someone else who will be responsible.”
In July, Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., a Tea Party conservative, introduced a measure that would have ousted Boehner from his leadership position. And in Houston, Texas, this week, the executive committee of the Harris County Republican Party passed a resolution calling on the 25 members of the Texas Republican House delegation to vote to sack Boehner.
On Friday, Meadows sent out a statement commending Boehner “for his honorable service, his humility, his undeniable love for his country and his desire to serve this great nation.
“I look forward to an open and inclusive discussion as the House pursues new leadership,” he said.
The Oct. 30 timetable may actually give Boehner the wiggle room to keep the government open, Stivers said: Because he won’t face a coup from right-wing conservatives, Boehner might be able to move freely to back legislation to pay for the government, raise the debt ceiling and pass a highway bill without having to tiptoe around the complaints of the Tea Party flank of his party.
“It’s an interesting way to actually free him up to get things done,” Stivers said.
His announcement comes one day after a visibly emotional Boehner sat behind Pope Francis during his historic address to Congress, which was set up by Boehner after two decades of trying to get a pope to speak to a joint session for the first time in U.S. history.
At one point, Boehner appeared to break down altogether when the pope addressed crowds waiting outside the Capitol to catch a glimpse of him after the speech. After the speech, Boehner reportedly told reporters from Politico and the Washington Post that he had nothing left to accomplish after bring Pope Francis to the Capitol. Asked if that meant he was resigning, Boehner laughed, then jumped into a nearby SUV.
Former Rep. David L. Hobson, R-Springfield, a friend of Boehner’s, said he had “no inkling from Boehner” that a resignation was coming.
He said Boehner was a leader long before Republicans took the House majority.
“John was one of the people who brought us out of the wilderness when we didn’t have anybody into the promised land, and now they’re throwing him under the bus,” he said, referring to the rebellious flank in his party. “I feel bad for the country. I think John was great for our party and great for our country and I’m honored to have served with him.”
Boehner, one of 12 children, played football at Cincinnati Moeller High School. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy but honorably discharged due to a bad back. He then graduated from Xavier University. He was elected to the Ohio House in the mid-1980s and beat scandal-plagued Buz Lukens in the 1990 primary.
Boehner’s resignation will set up a frantic search to replace him, and the conventional wisdom early on is that his No. 2, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California, is his most likely replacement.
In a statement Friday, McCarthy called Boehner “a leader, mentor, and most of all a friend.”
“As our country has weathered difficult times at home and abroad, John has acted as a true statesman, always moving forward with the best interests of the American people close to his heart,” he said. “He will be missed because there is simply no one else like him.”
UPDATE@ 10:35 a.m.:
U.S. Representative Kevin McCarthy of California, the No. 2 Republican in the House, is expected to be the leading contender to replace Boehner as speaker, Republican Representative Peter King told reporters.
UPDATE@ 10:20 a.m.:
Boehner’s departure is unfortunate for the future leadership of this country, said retired U.S. Rep. Dave Hobson, R-Springfield, who served with Boehner during his nearly 20 years in Congress.
“We’re going to go through a very difficult period to find anyone who has his abilities certainly in the short run here in the next five years,” Hobson said.
The departure likely wasn’t caused by Boehner’s political adversaries, but rather the people within the Republican Party.
“I don’t know what happened, but it’s certainly been a tough time for him,” Hobson said.
Hobson is unsure who will run for the vacant Ohio seat in Congress, but said he’s not planning on running.
Boehner was an original member of the Gang of Seven, which spoke out against several federal scandals during the early 1990s.
“John has been a fighter for change since he went there,” Hobson said. “Unfortunately, the right-wingers don’t remember or care about how much he’s been a leader for change in Congress.”
Earlier report:
House Speaker John Boehner is resigning from Congress at the end of October.
Boehner reportedly is frustrating over continuing battles over government shutdowns and in battling with conservative members of his own party.
No word yet on who will replace him as the congressman in the 8th district which covers Clark, Miami, Darke, Preble and Butler counties.
A Boehner aide that asked not to be named said Boehner “believes that the first job of any Speaker is to protect this institution and, as we saw yesterday with the Holy Father, it is the one thing that unites and inspires us all.
The Speaker’s plan was to serve only through the end of last year. Leader Cantor’s loss in his primary changed that calculation.
The Speaker believes putting members through prolonged leadership turmoil would do irreparable damage to the institution.
He is proud of what this majority has accomplished, and his Speakership, but for the good of the Republican Conference and the institution, he will resign the Speakership and his seat in Congress, effective October 30.”