Earlier this week I talked on the radio about how I had been told by a Republican member to keep a close eye on the vote for Speaker on the first day of the 113th Congress.
After it was all over, I was prowling the hallways outside the House Chamber looking for interviews, when I ran into that same member of Congress.
"I told you," he said with a very big smile and laugh.
Digging around in the corridors of Congress, it became obvious that there were more than just nine Republicans ready to vote against Speaker Boehner, but as one lawmaker told me, they didn't have the guts to follow through on their loosely organized rebellion.
How close was it to working? Well, Boehner only avoided a second ballot by seven votes.
If you just looked at the numbers, you probably don't understand what all the intrigue was about, since it says that Boehner defeated Nancy Pelosi 220-192 in the vote for Speaker.
But in these votes, you must have an absolute majority, not just a plurality to win; and so, opponents of Boehner came close.
Three of those voting against the Speaker were brand new freshmen in the Congress, like Rep. Jim Bridenstine (R-OK), who causes murmurs on the House floor when he voted for Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) instead of the Speaker.
The two other freshmen who did not vote for Boehner were Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Rep. Ted Yoho (R-FL).
One veteran member of Congress told me he wasn't sure it was the best way to start a career in Congress.
"They might see their office moved a few blocks away," he said.
The votes against the Speaker surprised some lawmakers; one told me later that he had been watching my reports on Twitter from his seat on the House floor, because it was hard to hear who had been voting for someone other than Boehner.
There were two other interesting tidbits involving the coup against Boehner, as two Republicans who have raised questions about the Speaker demonstrated their concern by simply refusing to answer when their name was repeatedly called on the floor during the roll call vote.
Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-SC) and Rep. Raul Labrador (R-ID) did that, sending the message that they also weren't thrilled with a Boehner re-election.
I don't think it's wrong to label this a "white knuckle" moment for the Speaker.
Again, the numbers may look okay to those who didn't watch the vote, but it was a rare bit of political theater on what is usually a pro forma kind of vote on the first day of the new Congress.
You can see the actual vote for Speaker on the U.S. House website.
Is this just a bump in the road for Boehner, or does it signify something larger at work within the GOP caucus?
Stay tuned.
