John Boehner, the conservative nemesis-turned-lobbyist who was ousted from the speaker position in 2015 for pushing Obama administration priorities, has reportedly emerged as a “quiet mentor” for House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana).
Boehner “was a surprising leader for Johnson, even though he was chairman a decade ago and is a Republican establishment figure who goes back much further in the party’s radical evolution,” Axios said. report Monday.
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The report comes just days after Boehner headlined a fundraiser for Johnson’s PAC in his home state of Ohio on May 30. Punchbowl News reported on the upcoming fundraiser. I got it, “If you listen to Speaker Mike Johnson speak recently, I think you’re seeing a little bit of John Boehner’s influence.”
The similarities in their influence, and preferred governing styles, are becoming increasingly clear.
In October 2015, Boehner surrendered his speaker’s gavel after a conservative revolt over his pushing through Democratic priorities on spending bills and multiple violations of the Hastert rule. About two dozen Republicans, led by then-Representative Mark Meadows (R-North Carolina), announced they would vote against Boehner in a “resign from the Speaker” resolution, and Boehner resigned.
The Hastert rule is an informal rule that says the speaker must only advance bills that are supported by the majority of the House.
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In just seven months, Johnson has passed two bills that violated the Hastert Rule: a $1.2 trillion spending bill in March and a $62 billion Ukraine aid bill in April, the latter of which he had vocally opposed for months before reversing course following intense lobbying from the Biden administration.
As a result, Johnson faced a motion to revoke his speakership in May, but unlike Boehner, Democrats rallied to Johnson’s support: a staggering 163 Democrats voted to keep him in the position.
Johnson’s policies were indistinguishable from those of the Democratic Party, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York) boasted that he had wrested control of the House from the Republicans under Johnson’s administration.
“Although we are a minority, we govern as if we are a de facto majority because we continue to provide the majority of votes necessary to get things done,” Jeffries said. 60 minutes“That’s just a fact.”
Boehner, in his trademark caustic style toward conservatives, revealed to Axios the depths of his little-known relationship with Johnson.
“For a guy who doesn’t drink, smoke or swear, [Johnson is a] He’s a really friendly guy.”
“He has to do a kabuki dance every day to maintain his base of supporters, people he doesn’t even want to call conservatives,” Boehner said.
I don’t know what You guys — I think that’s the wrong word to use against them. He has to do this dance every day to appease his caucus. But at the end of the day, he knows what has to be done and he’s going to find a way to get it done.
Boehner said Johnson Axios In his words, he “changed his position on the most significant foreign policy legislation in years.” It’s a majority for his party.”
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“Maybe Johnson was less enthusiastic about the Ukraine issue initially, but as chairman he will, firstly, learn a lot more and, secondly, the seriousness of the issues he is dealing with will change,” he said.
“All of a sudden you’re not only accountable to your district and to yourself, but you’ve got team members and you’ve got to be accountable to the long-term interest of the country. And I think he’s lived up to that expectation.”
Boehner currently works for Squire Patton Boggs, one of the world’s largest lobbying firms. In 2018, he joined the board of directors of Acreage Holdings, a company that promotes marijuana use, and a year later became chairman of the National Cannabis Roundtable, a marijuana lobbying group.
“My views on marijuana have evolved,” Boehner tweeted, a Washington idiom that echoes Johnson’s justifications for shifting positions on Ukraine funding and warrant requirements for spying on Americans. A proposed amendment to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act banning warrantless surveillance, an issue Johnson fought for years as a member of the Judiciary Committee, died earlier this year when he himself voted to repeal the provision.
Johnson’s biggest remaining battle in 2024 is moving forward with a fiscal 2025 spending bill before the deadline at the end of September. To tell He is considering passing a continuing resolution — another thorn in the side of conservatives — that would extend the deadline into the lame-duck session of Congress.
By doing so, Johnson would ensure that the House considers the spending bill after the November election and before the new Congress is sworn in, minimizing accountability for himself and other lawmakers until the next election two years from now.
If the past is a sign of the future, and with Boehner within Johnson’s earshot, conservatives are unlikely to be satisfied with the outcome and we can expect more boasting from Hakeem Jeffries.
Bradley Jay is Capitol Hill correspondent for Breitbart News. Follow him on X/Twitter. translator.
