House Speaker John Boehner’s unexpected resignation announcement sent lawmakers and lobbyists scrambling to understand what the move will mean for the impending government shutdown and long-term budget issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Boehner, the Ohio Republican who has served as speaker since 2012 and as the top Republican House member since 2007, told party members Friday morning that he intends to step down from his leadership post by the end of October. He’ll also retire from Congress, ending his 24-year legislative career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He did not speak to reporters after the announcement, but later released a statement saying that “prolonged leadership turmoil would do irreparable damage to the (House).”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The news came as Republican leaders spar over how to handle a series of budget extension proposals to keep the federal government operating past Sept. 30, the end of the fiscal year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Moderates within the House GOP caucus have been pushing for any plan that will avoid a shutdown, but more conservative members have vowed to strip funding from Planned Parenthood programs at any cost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Senate Republicans have already moved ahead with plans for a “clean” continuing resolution after Democrats blocked an attempt to drop the Planned Parenthood funds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, said he did not think Boehner’s announcement Friday would change the look of the fight, adding that his party “still needs to show that we can govern.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., called Boehner’s resignation a “seismic” event and an “indication of the disarray of House Republicans.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It’s unclear whether Boehner’s impending departure gives him the political freedom to ignore hard-line complaints within his own party and fashion a bipartisan budget compromise, or if it cedes power to those insurgent lawmakers and makes any deal less likely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If a compromise can’t be reached, it would lead to a partial government shutdown, the first since similar political infighting two years ago. Pentagon officials informed defense civilian employees Friday that thousands of them will be furloughed if a budget extension is not approved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Boehner’s departure is the second major Republican leadership shakeup in 13 months. Last summer, Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., lost a primary challenge and stepped down before the end of his term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The frontrunner to replace Boehner is House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., who praised the outgoing speaker as “a true statesman” whose decisions all have been geared toward\u00a0what’s best for the American public.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Now is the time for our conference to focus on healing and unifying to face the challenges ahead and always do what is best for the American people,” he said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The five-term congressman has largely stayed out of defense issues on Capitol Hill, with the exception of local California issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But Pentagon officials repeatedly have pleaded for more budget certainty from Congress, and Boehner’s tenure as speaker has\u00a0been marred by infighting and an\u00a0inability to negotiate realistic long-term budget plans with the Senate. Critics have suggested that a different leader may have more success balancing the often fractious ideologies within the Republican Party.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Analysts were cautiously optimistic about what impact Boehner’s resignation will have on the Hill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Andrew Hunter, a former Pentagon official now with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, tweeted:\u00a0“This doesn’t bode well for any kind of a deal on the budget. Maybe Boehner can pass a clean [continuing resolution]\u00a0with Dem help.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Michael Horowitz, associate professor of political science at the University of Pennsylvania, said he believes the move makes a shutdown “slightly less likely.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But\u00a0Horowitz warned\u00a0that more details may still emerge \u2014 in particular, whether Boehner stepping down was part of an internal GOP agreement to keep the government open in exchange for his resignation. Boehner has faced increasing pressure from inside his caucus over the Planned Parenthood issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mackenzie Eaglen of the conservative American Enterprise Institute believes the resignation may avoid a shutdown in the short term, but set up a messier situation down the line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Boehner announcing his resignation a month out takes the wind out of the sails for those spoiling for a big fight,” she said.\u00a0“The problem is there’s no plan for the next time, and that will be a brand new speaker, and the freedom caucus will feel empowered and emboldened at that time to take a big stand on Planned Parenthood and probably other issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I actually think [the chances of a shutdown] are much lower now, at least a shutdown next week,” she added. “But the odds increase dramatically after this CR expires.\u00a0I see no good news coming out of Boehner’s resignation. I only see a messy, gridlocked Congress ahead.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Staff writer Aaron Mehta contributed to this report.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The speaker’s unexpected resignation Friday sent lawmakers scrambling on what it will mean for shutdown possibilities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":104765,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":86,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"4":{"categories":["pentagon-congress","news"],"primary_category":"pentagon-congress"},"5":{"categories":["pentagon-congress","news"],"primary_category":"pentagon-congress"},"6":{"categories":["pentagon-congress","news"],"primary_category":"pentagon-congress"},"7":{"categories":["pentagon-congress","news"],"primary_category":"pentagon-congress"}}},"categories":[15,86,88],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3347,1908],"class_list":["post-119005","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-pentagon-congress","category-your-military"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"I6Q4QAB5GFCIDGEFYVK3PGTVNQ","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2015\/09\/25\/boehner-s-exit-raises-uncertainty-on-budget-moves\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\n