John Boehner’s Lawsuit Against Obama Will Cost Taxpayers $500/Hour In Attorney Fees

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Taxpayers should be outraged. It was revealed today that John Boehner’s lawsuit against President Obama will cost the American people $500 an hour in attorney fees.

According to Frank Thorp of NBC News, the contract for the law firm that Boehner hired to represent the House in his lawsuit against President Obama will cost taxpayers $500/hour.

Thorp tweeted:

Contract for BakerHostetler to handle GOP lawsuit vs. Pres Obama "agrees to pay…at a blended rate of $500 per hour for…attorney time."

— Frank Thorp V (@frankthorpNBC) August 25, 2014

Democratic Campaign Committee Chairman Steve Israel ripped Boehner in a statement, “This outrageous waste of taxpayer dollars is yet another reminder of House Republicans’ misguided priorities. Only in John Boehner’s world does it make sense to pay lawyers $500 per hour to work on a partisan lawsuit while refusing to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 for hardworking Americans trying to feed their families.”

This is an absurd waste of money. House Republicans have been blocking an extension of unemployment benefits for the long-term unemployed since January because they claim that it is too expensive, but the Speaker is spending more on one hour of legal representation that it would cost in many parts of the country to give an unemployed American their benefits back for a week.

The cost of Boehner’s lawsuit against President Obama has been a closely guarded secret. House Republicans have repeatedly refused to say how much the lawsuit will cost in total, but it is estimated that it will add up to millions of dollars. People need to remember that this frivolous lawsuit represents everything that House Republicans stand for.

The lawsuit will be thrown out of court, but before it is, it will cost taxpayers millions of dollars that could have been used to create jobs, help veterans, or restore benefits to the unemployed. John Boehner is interested in doing what the American people want. His only purpose is to waste taxpayer money with gimmicks that he hopes will keep House Republicans in power.

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