Defector fires back at Boehner’s revenge

Rep. Ted Yoho (R-Fla.) says the removal of two Republican lawmakers from an influential committee in apparent retribution for voting against Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) is something that would happen in a “communist country.”

Florida Republican Reps. Rich Nugent and Daniel Webster, who were among 25 House Republicans voting against Boehner for Speaker on Tuesday, were then booted from the Rules Committee, which controls the flow of legislation to the floor and has members appointed by the Speaker.  

{mosads}”They voted the way their districts wanted to,” Yoho, who also broke with Boehner, said on Fox News’s “Hannity” Tuesday night. “And to be held in jeopardy for that or retribution is wrong, because that would be something you would expect in China, Cuba, Russia or in a communist country to, when you have a voice of dissension, you’d be punished.

“But in America, where we honor free speech and a Constitution that protects that, we should not have to go through that,” he added. 

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas), who ran for Speaker against Boehner, along with Yoho, also hit back against the move, appearing alongside his colleague during the interview.

“If Webster and Nugent are being punished, then we’re going to have another fight real quick, and it’s going to be pretty nasty,” Gohmert said. “We can’t let that stand if they’re going to be punished.”

Gohmert said, though, that he shook Boehner’s hand after the vote, and Yoho added that he did, too. 

“I looked at him in the eye after the vote,” Yoho said. “I said, Mr. Speaker, congratulations. You won. I look forward to working with you to make this the best Congress America’s ever seen.”

“He said, ‘I look forward to working with you,’ ” Yoho added.