Blog Briefing Room

Boehner: ‘I’ll be here for a while’

Watch the latest video at video.foxnews.com

Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) says he is not serving his last term as Speaker of the House.

“No, no, no. I’ll be here for a while,” Boehner said in an interview that will air Wednesday night on Fox News’ “Special Report with Bret Baier.”

Boehner has clashed with members of his conference throughout his tenure, and fought back an effort in January to oust him as leader. 

{mosads}Twenty-five House Republicans defected from Boehner in the Speaker vote, coming perilously close to the total that would be needed to force a second ballot — and give rebels an opening to push an alternative.

But leading Republicans have rallied behind Boehner since the vote, consolidating his power over what is the largest House Republican majority in decades. 

In the interview, Boehner also defended his decision to invite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address Congress without consulting the White House.

Boehner said the administration’s friction with Netanyahu is no secret.

“They don’t even try to hide it,” he said.

President Obama and Netanyahu are at odds over how to handle Iran’s nuclear program. While Obama is pursuing a diplomatic accord with Iran, Netanyahu has warned the negotiations could become a “historic mistake.”

“We’ve got a serious problem in the world and the president just wants to act like it’s going to just disappear,” Boehner said when asked about the invitation to Netanyahu. “And so as a co-equal branch of our government, I don’t have any problem at all in doing what I did to invite the prime minister to come to Congress and address those concerns.”

Netanyahu is expected to speak to a joint session of Congress in March. The White House and State Department have said they will not meet with him because the visit comes two weeks before the Israeli elections.