House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) said Thursday that he’s the most “anti-establishment speaker we’ve ever had.”
The comment came during a press conference where he was peppered with questions about his speakership and criticism from prominent conservative figures.
Boehner said it did pain him to be described as “spineless or a squish.”
“I’ll tell you what pains me the most is when they describe me as the establishment,” Boehner said. “Now, I’m the most anti-establishment speaker we’ve ever had.”
Boehner then ticked off that he’s “the guy who believes in regular order” and the guy who “believes allowing more members to participate in the process from both sides of the aisle.”
Boehner’s comments came a few days after a small group of House Republicans tried to unseat him as speaker. Boehner penalized those Republicans by removing some of them from key committees.
He’s fielded criticism from outspoken conservatives for a while. Almost a year ago the tea party-aligned Senate Conservatives Fund departed from its usual focus on the Senate and demanded Boehner be replaced with a more conservative speaker.
“I’m pretty comfortable in my own skin and I’m going to do my best to show all of our members — Democrats and Republicans — and those guys who voted against me, that I’m up to the job that I was given,” Boehner said.
