John Boehner Admits That He Can’t Pass Anything Without Nancy Pelosi’s Democrats

Last updated on September 25th, 2023 at 08:41 pm

John Boehner has admitted that House Republicans have been paralyzed by their own infighting, and the only way that he can pass major legislation is with the help of Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats.

Here is a clip from Boehner’s Tuesday press conference:

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The Speaker said at his press conference yesterday, “We don’t have 218 votes, and when you don’t have 218 votes, you have nothing. We’ve seen it before. We see it again.” Boehner’s problem is that he is caught in the middle between two warring factions within the Republican House caucus. The divide within his caucus means that Boehner can’t pass anything outside of tax cuts and the repeal of the ACA.

The House Republican leadership desperately wants to pass immigration reform this year, but they don’t have the votes to do it. Boehner wants to avoid causing anymore fiscal chaos that pushes the country to the brink of fiscal collapse, but the extreme right wing of his caucus sees this tactic as a viable strategy that will get them what they want.

Boehner’s comment about not having 218 votes was an admission that he can’t pass anything substantial without Nancy Pelosi delivering Democratic votes. Republicans may hold the majority numerically, but the fact that Boehner went to Pelosi and asked her what kind of debt ceiling bill she and the Democrats would support is proof that Nancy Pelosi is critical to Boehner’s ability to accomplish anything outside of the standard pandering to the Republican base. Speaker Boehner could accomplish a lot of things if he was willing to align with the House Republican moderates, and rely on Democratic support.

It seems that John Boehner has finally realized that pandering to the tea party Republicans gets him nowhere. The tea partiers will never be satisfied. They will always ask for more, and each new demand will escalate towards the extreme. John Boehner is a defeated man, who is completely paralyzed by the warfare in his own Republican caucus.

Going forward, this means that the House probably won’t pass anything much this year. Unless Boehner decides to move to the middle, the House will remain unable to act.

John Boehner may be the Speaker of the House, but it is Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats who have the ability to deliver the votes.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association