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Boehner Re-elected Speaker Despite Dissenting Votes Boehner Retains Speaker’s Post, but Dissidents Nip at His Heels
(about 7 hours later)
WASHINGTON — Representative John A. Boehner of Ohio was re-elected speaker of the House on Thursday despite some unrest among Republicans about his handling of the fiscal negotiations with the White House and his decision to call off a vote on hurricane relief. WASHINGTON — Representative John A. Boehner of Ohio was narrowly re-elected speaker of the House on Thursday amid open dissent from conservatives on the House floor that signaled that the turmoil and division of the 112th Congress is likely to spill into the newly constituted 113th.
As the 113th Congress convened just after noon, Mr. Boehner weathered some protest votes from the rank and file to defeat Representative Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic leader, by a vote of 220 to 192. Other candidates drew a total of 14 votes. Mr. Boehner, in his opening address to the new House, indicated that the Republican majority would make the federal debt and deficit its singular focus. He also delivered a blunt message to those he sees as more interested in stirring dissension and scoring political points than in being constructive.
“Public service was never meant to be an easy living,” an emotional Mr. Boehner said after he took the gavel from Ms. Pelosi, referring to the tough decisions facing Congress. “Extraordinary challenges demand extraordinary leadership.” “If you have come here to see your name in lights or to pass off political victory as accomplishment, you have come to the wrong place,” an emotional Mr. Boehner said, calling for the House to focus on results. “The door is behind you.”
But in a long, pomp-filled roll call vote, nine Republicans voted against Mr. Boehner, and a handful of members refused to vote, signaling that divisions among House Republicans would continue from the 112th Congress into the 113th. In the Senate as well, hard feelings from the old Congress were reverberating in the new.
Some Republican conservatives registered their disapproval with the speaker by voting for others like Representative Eric Cantor of Virginia, the No. 2 House Republican, as well as Allen West, the fiery conservative from Florida who lost his seat in the November election. The Democratic leadership said it would hold off on efforts to limit the filibuster while negotiations with Republicans about procedural changes continued. But more junior Democrats suggested that they were not done pressing to diminish the power of the filibuster, even if that meant taking the extraordinary step of changing the Senate rules with a simple majority vote — an approach dubbed “the nuclear option.”
“I think it was a vote of no confidence,” said Representative Tim Huelskamp, Republican of Kansas, who voted for Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio, a conservative Republican. “In this town the intimidation was intense. There were a lot of members who wanted to vote no.” “The Senate is broken,” said Senator Jeff Merkley, Democrat of Oregon.
Mr. Boehner was nominated for a second term as speaker by Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington, the Republican conference chairwoman, who predicted that he would lead the new Congress to tackle overhauls of the tax code, immigration laws and entitlements. As the 113th Congress convened just after noon, leaders of both parties in both chambers tried to strike a note of comity after the struggles of a Congress marred by acrimony almost to its final minutes.
“What does he advise?” she asked of the man she hailed as a “regular guy.” “Don’t kick the can down the road.” The children and grandchildren of members romped through the House chamber, and lawmakers clapped one another on the back. The young son of Representative Jeb Hensarling, Republican of Texas, slept, slumped against his father. Newly elected Representative Tammy Duckworth, Democrat of Illinois, displayed her grievous wounds from the war in Iraq, wearing a skirt that revealed two prosthetic legs, with red pumps on her feet.
The day opened with wishes for more comity and cooperation. But partisan battles were already brewing on issues like same-sex marriage, gun control, welfare programs and Medicare. “I hope with all my heart that we will find common ground that is a higher, better place for our country,” said Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, the Democratic leader, before she handed the gavel to Mr. Boehner. “Surely we can be touched by the better angels of our nature.”
With Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. presiding, the Senate convened and swore in 13 new members and witnessed the return of Senator Mark Kirk of Illinois, who had been away for a year recovering from a stroke. Among those joining the Senate was former Representative Tim Scott of South Carolina, a Republican who replaced Jim DeMint. He is the only black member of the Senate, whose ranks of female members grew. But discord was on plain display in the roll call vote for speaker as Mr. Boehner weathered defections from the rank and file to defeat Ms. Pelosi by a vote of 220 to 192. Other nominees — among them the defeated House member and Tea Party firebrand Allen B. West of Florida; Mr. Boehner’s own second-in-command, Representative Eric Cantor of Virginia; and retired Gen. Colin L. Powell — drew 14 protest votes from members of both parties.
Senate Democrats, their majority rising by two to 55, stepped away from a threat to immediately ram through new rules to limit the power of Republicans to filibuster with a simple majority vote. The tension around Mr. Boehner, who was elected unanimously by House Republicans two years ago, showed in the long, pomp-filled roll call vote, in which each member was called on to publicly announce a choice. A dozen Republicans either voted for someone other than Mr. Boehner, voted “present” or remained silent even though they were in the chamber. It was not until the very last votes that Mr. Boehner cleared the majority he needed.
As a result, the first day of the 113th Congress is likely to be noted for what did not happen — a coup in the House, an unprecedented power play in the Senate — than what did. President Obama called Mr. Boehner to congratulate him.
But Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader, promised to keep his options open as he continues negotiating with Republicans in search of a bipartisan agreement on new rules to unstick the sclerotic Senate. And the House is expected to adopt rules changes to shift the emphasis to shrinking the government. Some mavericks were members who have been thorns in the speaker’s side for two years, like three representatives who were thrown off committees late last year: Tim Huelskamp of Kansas, who voted for Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio; Justin Amash of Michigan, who voted for a fellow sophomore conservative, Raúl R. Labrador of Idaho; and Walter B. Jones of North Carolina, who voted for David Walker, the former United States comptroller.
The House gaveled to a close the 112th Congress three minutes before noon to make way for the new session. Given the fight over the fiscal crisis that lasted right up until the end, lawmakers were conducting business almost to the final minute. “I think it was a vote of no confidence,” Mr. Huelskamp said. “In this town the intimidation was intense. There were a lot of members who wanted to vote no.”
And there is plenty ahead for the newly constituted House and Senate. House Republican leadership aides denied any such tactics and said rumors of strong-arming were unfounded.
Looming in the near future are showdowns between the Republican House and President Obama over raising the government’s statutory borrowing limit in February and the expiration in March of a stopgap spending measure financing the government. In both instances, Republicans have vowed not to cooperate unless federal spending is cut sharply and work begins to shrink entitlement programs like Medicare. Mr. Obama has been just as adamant in saying he is not prepared to negotiate over the full faith and credit of the United States government, which would be threatened if Congress refuses to raise the debt ceiling. A few who opposed Mr. Boehner were newcomers, signaling a new generation of dissent. Representative Jim Bridenstine of Oklahoma voted for Mr. Cantor, and Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky, who prevailed in the Republican primary last year with the help of young Ron Paul acolytes, voted for Mr. Amash. Representative Ted Yoho, Republican of Florida, started his career in the House by voting for Mr. Cantor, to “send a statement,” he said.
Republicans hope to enshrine their small-government crusade into the rules of the House. One new House rule will require committees to identify potentially duplicative programs when considering the creation of new programs or reauthorizing existing ones. Another will require annual budget resolutions to contain information about the growth of entitlement programs, like food stamps, to quantify the growth of welfare programs, a senior Republican leadership aide said. Representative Steve Stockman, a Texas Republican who served for one term in the 1990s, voted present. And as their names were called repeatedly for their votes, Mr. Labrador looked down at his desk and Representative Mick Mulvaney, Republican of South Carolina, stood silently in the back of the chamber, arms crossed, staring at the House well.
The new rules will also authorize House lawyers to continue a legal defense of the federal Defense of Marriage Act, a Bill Clinton-era law that defines marriage as a legal bond exclusively between a man and a woman. That has enraged Democrats who see it as a frivolous expenditure of tax dollars when the Justice Department has declined to defend the law’s constitutionality. On the other side of the aisle, the dwindling ranks of Southern Democrats showed that Ms. Pelosi is seen as a liability in some quarters. Representative Jim Cooper, Democrat of Tennessee, voted for Mr. Powell. Representative John Barrow voted for Representative John Lewis, his fellow Georgia Democrat and a civil rights icon.
“Today, House Republicans will send a clear message to L.G.B.T. families: their fiscal responsibility mantra does not extend to their efforts to stand firmly on the wrong side of the future,” Ms. Pelosi said. The agenda laid out by both Mr. Boehner and Senator Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader in the Senate, jibed well with the demands of small-government conservatives who have complained that neither leader has been sufficiently confrontational with Mr. Obama.
The new rules will also authorize House lawyers to continue their pursuit of a contempt citation against Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. for not releasing documents pertaining to Operation Fast and Furious, a gun-running controversy still boiling in conservative circles. Another rule will expand nepotism rules to preclude members from doing financial favors for their grandchildren, a change aimed squarely at Representative Maxine Waters, Democrat of California. Both said cutting spending would be front and center, putting them on a collision course with the president and Democratic leaders. And neither was taking seriously the president’s pledge not to bargain over raising the government’s statutory borrowing ceiling.
The House Ethics Committee in September cleared Ms. Waters of rules violations after a three-year investigation examining assistance to a bank with ties to her husband. But a special investigator said her chief of staff, who is also her grandson, might have acted improperly. “In a couple of months, the president will ask us to raise the nation’s debt limit,” Mr. McConnell said. “We cannot agree to increase that borrowing limit without agreeing to reforms that lower the avalanche of spending that’s creating this debt in the first place.”
The 113th Congress began on a hopeful note when Mr. Kirk, returning for the first time in a year, emerged in front of the Senate. Mr. Biden greeted him with a hug and a “Welcome back, man!” Partisan battles are brewing on issues beyond the budget, including on same-sex marriage, gun control and welfare programs.
“It was a good debate,” Mr. Kirk replied. “I was rooting for you.” Among the new rules of the House adopted Thursday, one requires committees to identify potentially duplicative programs when considering the creation of new programs or reauthorizing existing ones. Another will require annual budget resolutions to contain information about the growth of entitlement programs, like food stamps, a senior Republican leadership aide said.
Mr. Kirk was greeted by the Illinois delegation, as well as most of his colleagues in the Senate. His face contorted in concentration, Mr. Kirk, using a cane and flanked by Mr. Biden and Senator Joe Manchin III, Democrat of West Virginia, began making his way up the steps of the Senate. The new rules will also authorize House lawyers to continue a legal defense of the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as a legal bond exclusively between a man and a woman. That angered Democrats who say it is a frivolous expenditure of tax dollars when the Justice Department has declined to defend the law’s constitutionality.
When he slowed near the top, his colleagues called out words of encouragement — “Almost there!” and “A few more!” — and then erupted, anew, in applause when Mr. Kirk reached the top, triumphant. The first day of 113th Congress included some hopeful notes, especially the return of Senator Mark Steven Kirk, Republican of Illinois, a year after he suffered a major stroke.
The last day of the 112th Congress lasted three minutes, taken up largely by the opening prayer of the chaplain, the Rev. Patrick J. Conroy, who acknowledged “many struggles” and “many sorrows” in the last two years. Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. greeted him with a hug and a “Welcome back, man!”
“May the work of 112th issue forth to the benefits of the nation,” he intoned. “Where our work has fallen short, we ask your forgiveness.”
With that, Representative Louie Gohmert, Republican of Texas and one of the most contentious House members, led the Pledge of Allegiance, and Mr. Boehner gaveled one of the least productive Congresses in history adjourned forever.