John Boehner resigns as Speaker of the House

New York Times wrote:WASHINGTON — Speaker John A. Boehner, under intense pressure from conservatives in his party, announced on Friday that he would resign one of the most powerful positions in government and give up his House seat at the end of October, as Congress moved to avert a government shutdown.

Mr. Boehner, who was first elected to Congress in 1990, made the announcement in an emotional meeting with his fellow Republicans on Friday morning.

The Ohio representative struggled from almost the moment he took the speaker’s gavel in 2011 to manage the challenges of divided government and to hold together his fractious and increasingly conservative Republican members.

Most recently, Mr. Boehner, 65, was trying to craft a solution to keep the government open through the rest of the year, but was under pressure from a growing base of conservatives who told him that they would not vote for a bill that did not defund Planned Parenthood.

Speaker John A. Boehner in Washington on Thursday. He is under pressure to stand up to the president on Planned Parenthood.

Speaker John A. Boehner at a news conference on Capitol Hill this month. Mr. Boehner is again confronted with a rank-and-file uprising by Republican lawmakers who want to end financing of Planned Parenthood.

Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, the top Democrats in Congress, spoke outside the White House on Thursday after a strategy session with President Obama over the looming fight over abortion and the federal budget, which could result in a government shutdown.

Mr. Boehner’s stunning announcement lessens the chance of a government shutdown next week as Republican leaders in Congress will push for a short-term funding measure to keep the government operating and the speaker will no longer be deterred by those who threatened his job.

It will be up to the majority of the members of the House now to choose a new leader...

By Ben Werschkul