Two House Republicans Are Trying to Screw the Ghost of John Boehner
John Boehner left Congress in October. Traditionally, the law states that the government will pay for ex-Speakers of the House to keep an office on Capitol Hill for five years with up to three aides. Today, two House Republicans announced they intend to end that practice. Hmmm.
The two congressmen, Walter Jones of North Carolina and Thomas Massie of Kentucky, said in a press conference today that this isn’t as personal as it seems. Via the Huffington Post, which says it was the only outlet to attend the presser:
“This is not about John Boehner,” Jones said. “This is about the taxpayers’ money.”
But Massie and Jones have made themselves a thorn in the side of the GOP establishment in the ouster of Boehner and in its aftermath. As the Huffington Post notes, the two helped push Boehner out of his position, and then Jones submarined presumptive replacement Kevin McCarthy by floating the rumor that he was in an extramarital affair. After Paul Ryan finally secured the title, both Massie and Jones loudly complained about it in public.
As extreme conservatives, Massie and Jones can plausibly play the taxpayer card, though in their press conference they clearly couldn’t keep the shit-eating grins off their faces. Said Jones:
“I guess they’re going to pay for his toilet tissue too.”
[image via Getty]
