Photo credit: westernfreepress.com
Ohio Republican John Boehner beat back
a conservative rebellion on the House floor Tuesday, winning a third and
possibly final term as Speaker of the House of Representatives.
But on the opening day of the new Republican-controlled Congress,
a bloc of Tea Party insurgents fired off a warning shot to GOP leadership.
In a public roll call,
25 House Republicans defected from Boehner in the Speaker vote, double the
dozen who launched a failed coup attempt against him exactly two years ago.
The anti-Boehner crowd’s message was
simple: Don’t expect any cooperation in the 114th Congress — even with
Republicans in charge of the Senate and holding a historic majority in the
House.
Boehner needed a simple majority of the 408 lawmakers
present to secure another two years in the top job; he won 216.
But a dozen Republicans backed GOP Rep. Daniel
Webster, the former Florida state House Speaker. Reps. Louie Gohmert
(R-Texas) received three votes, while Rep. Ted Yoho (R-Fla.) got two votes,
including his own.
Former Republican Study Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio)
also received two votes, while Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), Rep.
Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) and Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.) received one vote apiece.
Since the Constitution allows lawmakers to vote for any U.S.
citizen for Speaker, Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Jeff Sessions received one
vote each, as did former Secretary of State Colin Powell. Democratic Leader
Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) received 164 votes.
In recent history, no sitting Speaker
has seen so many defections from his or her own party in the first vote of a
new Congress. Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) saw nine defections in 1997, while
Dennis Hastert watched five fellow Republicans cast votes against him in 2005,
according to an analysis by The New York Times.
The Republicans who voted against Boehner were Reps. Justin Amash
(Mich.), Rod Blum (Iowa), Dave Brat (Va.), Jim Bridenstine (Okla.), Curt
Clawson (Fla.), Scott DesJarlais (Tenn.), Jeff Duncan (S.C.), Chris Gibson
(N.Y.), Louie Gohmert (Texas), Paul Gosar (Ariz.), Scott Garrett
(N.J.), Tim Huelskamp (Kan.), Walter Jones (N.C.), Steve King (Iowa),
Thomas Massie (Ky.), Mark Meadows (N.C.), Richard Nugent (Fla.), Gary Palmer
(Ala.), Bill Posey (Fla.), Scott Rigel (Va.), Marlin Stutzman (Ind.), Randy
Weber (Texas), Daniel Webster (Fla.) and Ted Yoho (Fla.).
Rep. Brian Babin (R-Texas) voted present.
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