Gohmert: More than 10 oppose Boehner

More than 10 Republicans will vote against John Boehner (R-Ohio) for Speaker on Tuesday, according to Rep. Louie Gohmert.

{mosads}Gohmert, a Texas Republican who is challenging Boehner for the gavel, was asked during an interview Monday on Houston’s KPRC whether he was expecting more than 10 of his colleagues to oppose Boehner’s bid for a third term as Speaker.

“Yes, yes we are,” he said.

A whip list compiled by The Hill indicates there are already 10 Republicans planning to vote against Boehner on Tuesday. Gohmert suggested he was aware of one “no” vote that is not publicly known.

“I just got off the phone with somebody that is not known to be a ‘no,’ ” he said.

The conservatives seeking to elect a new Speaker will need at least 29 Republicans to abstain or vote for someone other than Boehner to force a second ballot, but appear to be well short of that mark. Rep. Ted Yoho (R-Fla.) has also declared himself a candidate for Speaker.

Sean Hannity, host of Hannity on Fox News Channel, on Monday night put the number of votes against Boehner at 14. Hannity’s guest, Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), another conservative who will vote no on Boehner, said his colleagues “have a shot” at 29 noes, and said he was trying to persuade Rep. Dan Webster (R-Florida) to also vie for the gavel. The number of Republicans opposing Boehner would rise again if Webster did so, King said.

Hannity called on Republicans to oppose another Boehner speakership, saying that Boehner is “not up to the job” and lacks an agenda.

Gohmert said he is not worried about retribution if Boehner is reelected.

“Boehner’s staff has said that, you know, there shouldn’t be any retribution, that that’s the way the Speaker feels,” he said.

Gohmert said that he likes Boehner personally but assailed his leadership.

“He’s a nice guy to hang around,” Gohmert said. “I’d probably enjoy playing golf with him the once a year I play, but the fact is he has forced this conference to take bad vote after bad vote after bad vote.”

Democrats, meanwhile, are jumping on the Gohmert bandwagon. The Democratic group American Bridge sent out a link on Monday to SpeakerGohmert.com, which shows a YouTube video of controversial statements from the congressman. 

Updated at 10:30 p.m.