A second House Republican announced Saturday that he plans to oppose House Speaker John Boehner for re-election next week.
Explaining his decision, Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., criticized House Republican leaders for not giving lawmakers ample time to read bills, and accused leadership of having undermined conservative members of the conference by removing them from committees or by bringing controversial bills to a vote without notice.
Massie also cited the recent spending deal reached by congressional lawmakers, the timing of which, Massie said, was scheduled “to get maximum leverage over rank and file members.”
“For years I watched Washington from afar and suspected that something was broken,” Massie said in a press release. “During my first two years as a congressman I discovered a significant source of the dysfunction. I watched the House leadership.”
Massie did not specify whom he will support instead of Boehner, but Massie said he “will vote for a new speaker who will consistently articulate a constitutional vision for America and facilitate an inclusive and orderly legislative process that allows Congress to truly reflect the will of the people.”
Massie is the second House Republican thus far to announce he will not support Boehner for speaker. Rep. Jim Bridenstine, R-Okla., also announced his opposition to Boehner’s re-election this week.
Still, Boehner is expected to win re-election with relative ease, having shored up support from even some of the most testy conservatives within his conference. Those conservatives who do not support Boehner have not coalesced around an alternative — and this year, Boehner’s margin for error is larger than during the previous Congress. He can lose 28 votes and still win re-election.
Boehner faced a crisis last week when news broke that House Majority Whip Steve Scalise might have addressed a crowd of white supremacists in 2002. But Boehner moved quickly to voice his support for Scalise, preventing serious backlash among conservatives within the House GOP conference that might have jeopardized his re-election.
