In a farewell address to the chamber Thursday, Rep. John A. Boehner formerly resigned as speaker of the House and said that he was ending a quarter century in Congress with “no regrets, no burdens.”
Mr. Boehner, reflecting on a lifetime in which he started as the son of a saloon keeper in Cincinnati and became the highest-ranking constitutional officer in Congress, said his time in Washington had not changed him.
“If anything, I leave as I started — just a regular guy humbled by the chance to do a big job,” he said. “That’s what I’m most proud of — that I’m still just me.”
His parting words were delivered to a full chamber that was called into session to elect his successor. A shortly time later, a majority of lawmakers selected Rep. Paul Ryan, Wisconsin Republican, to lead the House and attempt to unify a divided GOP conference that had prompted Mr. Boehner to quit.
Mr. Boehner’s resignation from his seat representing a district in the Cincinnati suburbs, which he has held since 1991, will take effect this weekend.
Mr. Boehner, who entered politics after a successful career as a businessman, did not entirely escape the trappings of his powerful post. He told reporters a day earlier that one of the first things he’d do after leaving office was buy a car, because he had been chauffeured by Capitol Police since becoming majority leader in 2006.
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His tenure as speaker was marred by the rift in the conference between establishment Republicans, personified by Mr. Boehner, and conservative tea party Republicans, including about 40 members who formed the Freedom Caucus and pushed for more aggressive confrontations with President Obama over spending, debt and immigration.
“Before I go, let me just express what an honor it is been to serve with all of you,” he said. “The people’s House is, in my view, the great embodiment of the American idea. Everyone comes from somewhere and is on some mission.”
He also offered a note of caution.
“Real change takes time. Yes, freedom makes all things possible, but patience is what makes all things real. So, believe in the long, slow struggle,” he said.
Known for getting emotional and shedding tears, Mr. Boehner walked up to the podium with a box of Kleenex to deliver the speech.
He choked back tears as he praised Mr. Ryan as a man who did not want the job but was responding to a higher calling from a party that needed him, and thanked his Republican leadership team as well as the Democratic leadership team.
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Later, Mr. Boehner wiped his eyes as he stood at the back of the chamber and listened as he was celebrated in speeches by Mr. Ryan and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, California Democrat.
Mrs. Pelosi said that he was the “personification of the American dream.”
In his speech, Mr. Boehner said that he came to Congress on a mission “to strive for a smaller, less costly, and more accountable government in Washington, D.C.”
He said that his record of accomplishments include entitlement reforms for the first time in 20 years and making the Bush tax cuts permanent for all but the wealthiest Americans. He touted his record of helping lower the nation’s debt and strike up bipartisan deals with Democrats — deals which he said he had struck more of in the last five years as speaker than in 25 years in the House.
“And we banned earmarks altogether. Sorry,” he joked.
Republicans campaigned on eliminating earmarks, items slipped into spending bills that deliver projects and other federal funding to members’ districts, calling them a source of corruption. Mr. Boehner made good on that promise when Republicans won the House majority in 2010 and elected him speaker.
The end of earmarks significantly reduced pork barrel spending but it also removed the carrot that House leaders used to coax lawmakers’ cooperation on difficult votes.
Recalling his humble beginnings, Mr. Boehner said that his life has been “a chase for the American Dream” that started at the bottom of a hill in Reading, Ohio.
“At the top was a small house with a big family — a shining city in its own right. The hill had twists. And it had turns. And even a few tears. Nothing wrong with that,” he said. “But let me tell you, it was all just perfect.”
He urged his colleagues never to forget that they are the luckiest people on the face of the earth.
“In America, you can do anything if you’re willing to work hard and make the necessary sacrifices.
“If you falter — and you will — you can just dust yourself off and keep on going,” said Mr. Boehner. “Because hope always springs eternal. And if you just do the right things for the right reasons, good things will happen.”
• S.A. Miller can be reached at smiller@washingtontimes.com.
• Anjali Shastry can be reached at ashastry@washingtontimes.com.
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