Boehner Acknowledges Punishing Conservatives For Opposing His Re-Election

Speaker of the House John Boehner acknowledged Wednesday that he punished two Republicans who opposed his re-election by stripping them of committee assignments.

Reps. Daniel Webster and Richard Nugent, both Republicans, lost their seats on the House Rules Committee hours after voting for someone else for speaker on Tuesday. In total, 25 Republicans voted against Boehner.

“Because of some of the activities on the floor,” Boehner explained in a Wednesday news conference, “two of our members weren’t put back on the committee immediately.”

Referencing the vote, Boehner said he plans to talk to his members about how to unify as the new session of Congress heats up.

“We’re going to have a family conversation,” Boehner said. “Which we had this morning about bringing our team together. And I expect that those conversations over the next couple of days will continue.”

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