Newly initiated House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) just spoke on the House floor and took the oath of office, saying that “the people voted to end business as usual and today we begin to carry out their instructions.”
An (unsurprisingly) teary Boehner first symbolically accepted the gavel from outgoing Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), who got some chuckles when she noted that this gavel “is larger than most gavels here, but the gavel of choice by Speaker Boehner.”
Despite the fanfare of the moment, Boehner began his remarks with: “It’s still just me.” He continued that “hard work and tough decisions will be required of the 112th Congress. No longer can we fall short. No longer can we kick the can down the road.”
He mentioned a commitment to “openness” in Congress several times, and said that “we will welcome the battle of ideas.”
[TPM SLIDESHOW: Meet The New House Republican Leadership]
“We will not always get it right,” Boehner said, “and we will not always agree on what is right.” He added that “there’s a great deal of scar tissue built up” on both sides of the aisle.
“Welcome to the people’s house,” Boehner concluded. “Welcome to the 112th Congress.”
