(Photo Credit: The Associated Press)
In a move that surprised just about everyone, including members of Congress and President Obama, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) announced Friday he will step down as Speaker of the House and resign from Congress, effective Oct. 30.
Boehner had already announced he would be stepping down from Congress at the end of this legislative year. During a press conference Friday, Boehner said he decided to resign early just hours before making the announcement, citing "leadership turmoil."
“It’s become clear to me that this prolonged leadership turmoil would do irreparable damage to the institution,” Boehner said after stepping up to the microphone singing a cheerful tune. “This isn’t about me. It’s about the people. It’s about the institution.
“This morning I woke up and I said my prayers, as I always do, and I decided, 'You know, today’s the day I’m going to do this.' Simple as that,” he added.
Boehner’s resignation comes just before what is expected to be a contentious budget fight between Democrats and Republicans over whether or not to fund Planned Parenthood amid allegations that the organization is selling body parts from aborted babies. Congressional leaders have already announced an effort to pass a continuing resolution to keep the government open through December, but a future battle over the more than half-billion dollars annually allotted to Planned Parenthood could result in a partial government shutdown if Congress can’t agree on a long-term funding bill.
Boehner had come under fire during the last government shutdown in 2013, caused by a partisan congressional fight over whether or not to fund Obamacare while he was speaker.
“It was never about the vote," Boehner said Friday of the impending budget struggle. "I can survive the vote. But I didn’t want my constituents to go through that, and I didn’t want the members to go through it.”
On leaving Congress, Boehner simply said, “Frankly I’m entirely comfortable doing it.”
“I’m doing this today for the right reasons, and the right things will happen as a result,” he added.
Before his remarks, Boehner's office released the following statement on the Speaker’s website late Friday morning:
"My mission every day is to fight for a smaller, less costly, and more accountable government. Over the last five years, our majority has advanced conservative reforms that will help our children and their children. I am proud of what we have accomplished.
"The first job of any Speaker is to protect this institution that we all love. It was my plan to only serve as Speaker until the end of last year, but I stayed on to provide continuity to the Republican Conference and the House. It is my view, however, that prolonged leadership turmoil would do irreparable damage to the institution. To that end, I will resign the Speakership and my seat in Congress on October 30.
"Today, my heart is full with gratitude for my family, my colleagues, and the people of Ohio’s Eighth District. God bless this great country that has given me - the son of a bar owner from Cincinnati - the chance to serve."
Watch Boehner's entire press conference below: