Former House Speaker John Boehner choked on the legacy of Nancy Pelosi, a partisan rival who was nonetheless “unfailingly gracious to me, my family and frankly my team here in Washington.”
“My girls told me, tell the speaker how much we admire them,” Boehner said Wednesday at a ceremony on Capitol Hill to unveil the official portrait of Pelosi, who is stepping down from the Democratic leadership after 20 years.
Boehner, a Republican, succeeded Pelosi as speaker after the Republicans won the House of Representatives in the 2010 midterm elections. He resigned in 2015 and was succeeded by Paul Ryan. Pelosi became speaker again after the Democrats regained a majority in 2018. She announced last month that she would step down from the leadership as Republicans prepare to regain a narrow majority in the House of Representatives.
“No other speaker in the modern House of Representatives, whether Republican or Democrat, has swung the gavel with such authority or with such consistent results,” Boehner said at the ceremony. “Let me just say you’re a tough guy.”
Boehner said he and Pelosi “disagreeed visually on a lot of things, but we were never uncomfortable.” Boehner published a memoir last year in which he described his despair over the divisions within the Republican faction in the House of Representatives, particularly on the far right.
Boehner noted that he sometimes got into trouble with some of his own members because of some of his friendly gestures toward Pelosi. When he took the gavel in 2011, he recalled leaning in to kiss Pelosi. When she pulled away, Boehner said, “I was like, ‘I can’t let her reject me, so I went in and planted that kiss on her.'” He said he remembered the moment months or even years later. discovered.
“Managers lead, and you, Ms. Sprecher, have led,” Boehner said.
Others who attended the ceremony included Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA), and Elena Hung, the co-founder and executive director of Little Lobbyists.
Artist Ronald Sherr’s portrait is on display in the Speakers’ Lobby just outside the House of Representatives chamber.
Author: Ted Johnson
Source: Deadline
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