House Speaker John Boehner said Wednesday that he does not believe his leadership post is in jeopardy, and cited a standing ovation he received Wednesday from fellow Republicans “for the fact that I have this job and what I have to put up with to keep it.”
Boehner has come under fire from his most conservative flank, which has signaled that they may try to strip him of the speaker’s gavel if he doesn’t listen to them on key issues, including the upcoming vote on the Iran nuclear deal.
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Boehner on Wednesday was forced to pull a resolution of disapproval from the House floor after conservatives complained it did not go far enough to delay or halt the nuclear deal. He then worked with conservatives on restructuring the resolution to include a measure to rebuke President Obama for failing to provide enough information to Congress on the nuclear deal, as well as a measure prohibiting the president from lifting sanctions on Iran.
Boehner indicated he’ll be able to keep his job precisely because of those sorts of adjustments that he’s willing to make.
“Yesterday, we laid a plan before the members,” Boehner said. “They had concerns about the plan and we sat down and worked with our members to come up with a new plan. And frankly there is wide support for it.”
Republicans also changed the format for the vote. Instead of voting for a resolution of disapproval, lawmakers will vote on a resolution of approval of the deal, which will fail thanks to broad Republican opposition to the deal.
Boehner said the House will “preserve our right” to vote for a motion of disapproval if the Senate is able to pass it.
The approval motion in the House, Boehner said, “is about holding every member accountable,” for supporting or rejecting the Iran deal.
Poll numbers show the accord has grown increasingly unpopular among Americans. A Sept. 8 Pew poll found just 21 percent of respondents in support of the deal and 49 percent are against it.
