It is now official – John Boehner has been elected to serve as Speaker of the House for a third term. There were 25 votes from Republicans that were for candidates other than Boehner, but 29 were needed in order to force a second round of voting. (Nancy Pelosi received the votes of the Democrats and will remain House Minority Leader.)
There is disappointment among many conservatives that the status quo has remained the same.
A congressman just voted for Boehner or against Boehner (or present) for Speaker. Rinse/Repeat
— Ben (@BenHowe) January 6, 2015
"Orange you glad I won?" pic.twitter.com/0kTJT1KxQP
— Jim Geraghty (@jimgeraghty) January 6, 2015
Disappointment aside, Congress will have to move forward with the business at hand, and the first issue up is the Keystone XL pipeline.
With Republicans assuming full control of Congress on Tuesday after their victories in the November election, they have put Keystone at the center of their legislative agenda and plan weeks of debate.
The White House immediately issued a veto threat.
Boom. First veto threat of 2015. @PressSec says the president would not sign the Keystone bill
— Jonathan Karl (@jonkarl) January 6, 2015
Earnest confirms Keystone veto threat: "If this bill passes this Congress, the president wouldn't sign it either"
— Jennifer Epstein (@jeneps) January 6, 2015
Hmmm, so much for cooperation with the new Congress. I’m shocked, shocked, I tell you. (Sarcasm meter is broken again.)
If obama vetoes the bill, Congress can override the veto…..it’s in the Constitution, and has been done before.
Johnny says: True, Penny but two-thirds majority is needed in both houses to override a veto.
Every single Republican plus 54 more votes from the other 189 in the House and 13 more votes from the other 46 in the Senate.
No matter – let the Republicans pass the legislation they were elected to pass and let Obama veto-veto-veto – see how well voters respond in 2016.
But Republicans must seize the narrative – its Obama who’s ignoring the will of the people, not Republicans who “won’t cooperate with the President”.
Chris in N.Va. says: Ol’ Weepy John has been the Boehner of the conservatives’ existence.
If only some of the rest of the Court Eunuchs would get a testicular transplant and at least growl occasionally at the extra-Constitutional meanderings of our Imperial King Ozymandias-on-the-Potomac instead of just rolling over for condescending tummy rubs, settling for a little tasty rubber chew-toy-bone now and then.
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