WASHINGTON — House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, a former House Speaker, described Speaker John A. Boehner’s sudden resignation as “seismic for the House” in a news conference Friday morning.
She called the conservative discontent that seemingly inspired it “a stark illustration of the disarray of House Republicans” as a federal government shutdown looms “and an illustration of their obsession with shutting down the government at the expense of women’s health.”
Pelosi said she didn’t get a heads-up that Boehner was resigning. She called his office at about 8:15 a.m. to discuss the shutdown negotiations. She was told he was in a meeting. She proceeded to a breakfast with Chinese and Tibetan dissidents, and was later in caucus discussing the negotiations with fellow Democrats. “You know how it is — the phones just lit up.”
She referred to Pope Francis’ visit and speech to Congress on Thursday, calling it “a message of hope, peace and dialogue. He challenged us to engage in dialogue to move forward for the American people.” She called the conservative movement against Boehner “a sign of the failure of House Republicans” to engage in that dialogue.
President George Washington, Pelosi says, cautioned against “political parties at war with their own government. And that’s really what we’re seeing evidence of.”
Former Sen. John Warner, a Democrat from Virginia, said much the same to WTOP on Friday morning.
“John Boehner has been under constant pressure from the far right wing of his party. I think the speaker wanted to get things done.
“I think he doesn’t want a government shutdown. I think he was actually willing to do a big budget deal. I think this constant carping from his far right wing took a toll,” Warner said.
Pelosi said the current climate isn’t representative of the Republican Party, which she said “has done so much for our country over time.”
She added that negotiations to keep the federal government open past Sept. 30, the end of the fiscal year, were continuing.
“Of course it’s a distraction; it’s more than a distraction.”
She says Boehner “is the speaker until he gives up the gavel, and so we will continue to negotiate with Speaker Boehner.”
As to who will succeed him, Pelosi said, “you and I will find out together.”
“The American people are even more closely watching what happens here.”
