House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) is in a much stronger position now that Congress is poised to pass a deal that would re-open the federal government and prevent the nation from defaulting, accoding to Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-SC).
“One-hundred percent stronger,” Mulvaney said Wednesday afternoon on CNN when asked about whether Boehner is in a stronger or weaker position now. Mulvaney noted that he and other “good conservatives” supported a bill House leaders sought to pass in the chamber on Tuesday that collapsed.
“We supported that compromise. We could not get him the votes,” Mulvaney continued. “That was our failure. We did not deliver the votes in the House. It wasn’t the speaker’s fault.”
Observers have speculated that Boehner could lose his speakership if he sought to pass legislation that raised the debt ceiling and prevented a national default if that deal did not appease the conservative wing of House Republicans. Earlier in the day House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said that Boehner’s speakership was safe.
“Sure, sure,” Pelosi said on MSNBC when asked if she though Boehner would remain speaker after Congress passed the plan.
