Speaker of the House John Boehner will resign from Congress at the end of October, he announced in front of his Republican colleagues.
Speaker Boehner received a round of applause from colleagues; he cited the ongoing criticism of his performance as part of the reason he would step down as he didn’t want to be the story in the midst of the 2016 campaign. His announcement was a surprise to the majority of Republicans, including his deputy Rep. Kevin McCarthy.
Boehner became Speaker of the House in January, 2011 and helmed a divided Republican Party featuring a large crop of Tea Party insurgent lawmakers who opposed many of the establishment Republicans more likely to compromise with Democrats and President Obama.
Boehner’s tenure as Speaker has been a tumultuous one; he presided over a raucous Republican caucus with figures like presidential candidate Ted Cruz, who was hell bent on shutting down the government over policies like Obamacare rather than compromise or work with the president.
The media loved to poke fun at Boehner over his penchant for crying, evidenced by social mockery of the Ohio Congressman on Thursday when he cried beside Pope Francis.
TV news is scrambling to cover Boehner’s resignation at the same time as Pope Francis addresses the United Nations on Friday mornings.