WASHINGTON (Sept. 25, 2015) — House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, made the surprise announcement Sept. 25 that he will resign as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives and from the House at the end of October.
Rep. Boehner, a 13-term veteran of the House, became minority leader in 2007 and House speaker in 2011. His tenure as speaker was marked by heated battles with both the Obama administration and with “Tea Party” conservatives in the House who found his policies too moderate.
Rep. Boehner's announcement came the day after one of his greatest triumphs as House speaker, and less than a week before another pending crisis.
On Sept. 24, Rep. Boehner hosted the Catholic Church's Pope Francis in the House chamber, as the pontiff became the first Pope ever to address a joint meeting of Congress.
Sept. 30 marks the deadline for Congress to pass a continuing resolution to fund federal government operations. A number of House members want to force a government shutdown to attain their goal of canceling all government funding of Planned Parenthood.
No public statement from Mr. Boehner giving reasons for his resignation was immediately available.
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