John Boehner, the orange in a necktie who had recently emerged as the relative voice of sanity in a budget battle that’s been stalled out by his Republican party’s far right wing, will leave Congress and resign as Speaker of the House in October. The New York Times broke the news, citing aides in Boehner’s office.

With the budget deadline coming up on Sept. 30, Boehner had been working to avoid a government shutdown like the one in 2013, but facing pressure from more conservative Republicans (notably Ted “Cohiba” Cruz) to block any budget that would continue to provide funding for Planned Parenthood.

House members were reportedly stunned when Boehner broke the news in a private meeting.

“Everybody’s still in sort of a state of shock,” Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.) told The Hill.

Boehner reportedly told members that the party’s leadership debate had been distracting from its mission.

“He just does not want to become the issue,” Mica added. “Some people have tried to make him the issue, both in Congress and outside.”

Just a day before his announcement, Boehner’s office said “he’s not going anywhere. If there’s a small crew of members who think that he’s just going to pick up and resign in the middle of his term, they are going to be sadly mistaken.”

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the Republican party, “values voters” are celebrating:

[Photo: AP Images]