Politics

GOP Lawmaker Becomes Second To Publicly Oppose Boehner

Chuck Ross Investigative Reporter
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Kentucky U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie became the second Republican to publicly oppose John Boehner for re-election as speaker of the House, releasing a statement on Saturday listing four grievances with the Ohio Republican and other GOP House leaders.

“On January 6th, 2015, I will vote for a new Speaker who will consistently articulate a constitutional vision for America and facilitate an inclusive and orderly legislative process that allows Congress to truly reflect the will of the people,” Massie said in a press release.

Massie’s announcement comes a day after Oklahoma Rep. Jim Bridenstine publicly opposed Boehner and is part of a mounting effort to prevent Boehner from winning a majority vote, thus convincing him to drop out of the speaker race.

“I watched House leadership schedule a fiscal crisis in a lame duck session on the last legislative day before Christmas to get maximum leverage over rank and file members,” said Massie, who was elected to the House in 2012 and represents a district in northern Kentucky.

Leadership also misled members “into thinking that a vote on an unpopular bill was postponed, only to then conduct a rushed voice vote on the $10 billion unfunded spending measure with fewer than a dozen members present,” Massie stated, referring to the so-called Cromnibus spending bill.

Massie also faulted leadership for giving members “less than 72 hours to read bills over 1,000 pages long” and for removing “members from committees simply because they voted for the principles upon which they campaigned.”

Massie indicated his opposition last week when he sent a tweet of a sign which read “Next Speaker Please.” (RELATED: Republican Congressman Says He Won’t Vote For Boehner As Speaker)

North Carolina’s Walter Jones is also a likely “no” vote for Boehner. In a radio interview before Christmas he said that he has met with 16 or 18 Republican lawmakers to discuss opposing Boehner.

Though House Republicans largely stand in support of Boehner, a new poll released Friday showed that 60 percent of GOP voters want to replace Boehner.

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