Susan Walsh / AP
In this Feb. 25, 2014, photo, House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio speaks to reporters following a meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington.
Friday, Sept. 25, 2015 | 10:04 a.m.
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2015, in Washington.
Rep. Mark Amodei
Members of Nevada’s congressional delegation reacted with surprise, praise and concern to House Speaker John Boehner’s announcement that he would step down from his post and resign from Congress after years of conflict with conservatives in the Republican party. Those tensions boiled over during negotiations to avoid a government shutdown that would not include a conservative-backed measure to defund Planned Parenthood.
On Twitter, Republican Representative Mark Amodei praised Boehner, saying that he wanted to “thank the Speaker for his years of service and wish him the best. He earned his spot in ‘the older I get, the better I was club.’" He also added a veiled shot, saying, “I am hopeful that new leadership will result in some changes other than new names.”
On the floor of the Senate today, Minority Leader Harry Reid said that he was “stunned” by the news, saying that the two had forged a close relationship. “He never, ever told me something that wasn't true and I accepted that. I got where I understood John Boehner very, very well. His word was always good.”
Reid went on to bemoan the influence of the far right within the Republican congressional delegation. “I'm so concerned; I am seeing the Republican Party, not the party of Dwight Eisenhower as I have studied him or the man Ronald Reagan as I knew him,” said Reid. “I just think it's very, very sad that the Tea Party caucus that Republicans leaders embraced to win in 2010 have now taken over control of the party. To say that I will miss John Boehner is a tremendous understatement.”
Reid added that he would be happy to arrange a golf game for Boehner in Las Vegas.
Boehner had clashed with conservative members of his party who said that they would not vote for a government spending bill unless it defunded Planned Parenthood. Boehner’s announcement seemed to indicate that effort had failed to block the bill — but had succeeded in ending his career.
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