Conservatives from all across the country gathered in Washington Friday morning for the Values Voter Summit, organized by the social conservative group Family Research Council. The day’s speakers were just beginning — indeed some were still stuck in traffic caused by Chinese President Xi Jinping’s stay in a nearby hotel — when word spread that House Speaker John Boehner had announced his resignation.

The tone of the day, as far as Boehner was concerned, was set when the first presidential candidate to speak, Marco Rubio, announced the news. The crowd broke into a spontaneous and extended standing ovation.