Speaker John A. Boehner will resign from Congress at the end of October in a surprising move that was announced Friday.
He was facing a threat of a House vote on whether he could have stayed in his position of speaker, The Associated Press reported.
"Speaker Boehner believes that the first job of any Speaker is to protect this institution and, as we saw yesterday with the Holy Father, it is the one thing that unites and inspires us all...The Speaker believes putting members through prolonged leadership turmoil would do irreparable damage to the institution. He is proud of what this majority has accomplished, and his Speakership, but for the good of the Republican Conference and the institution, he will resign the Speakership and his seat in Congress, effective October 30."
He also went to Twitter to thank his constituents for their support.
Early Friday afternoon, he answered reporters' questions about his retirement during a press conference, including admitting that he made the decision very recently.
Boehner has been in Congress for 25 years.
According to his official biography:
- Boehner represents the 8th Congressional District in Ohio, first elected in 1990.
- He is the second-oldest of 12 siblings, born and raised in Ohio.
- His family owned a cafe, where he worked mopping floors and waiting tables.
- He graduated from Moeller High School in Cincinnati in 1968.
- Boehner graduated from Xavier University, graduating in 1977 with a bachelor's degree in business.
- He is married to Debbie and has two daughters, Lindsay and Tricia.
- Boehner maintains a residence in the northern Cincinnati suburb of West Chester.
Tea party members have been complaining that Boehner had not done enough to take government money away from Planned Parenthood.
The defunding of Planned Parenthood was tied to funding the government for the next fiscal year.
The continuing resolution that keeps the government running will run out on Oct. 1. If not passed, the government could shut down until a new spending plan is adopted.
Boehner told conservatives Thursday afternoon that he would not abide by his demands to use the funding bill to battle against President Barack Obama, The Washington Post reported.
A vote on a clean bill, without the Planned Parenthoot rider, is scheduled for Monday in the Senate. A House vote is likely to come on either Tuesday or Wednesday, the Post reported.
