The Republicans who voted against Boehner for Speaker
Twenty-five Republicans rebelled against John Boehner (R-Ohio), who won a third term as Speaker on Tuesday.
{mosads}The 25 Republicans, including three freshmen, didn’t coalesce around a single alternative candidate.
Rep. Daniel Webster (R-Fla.), whose nomination for Speaker became public just minutes before the vote, attracted the most votes at 12.
Meanwhile, the other two long-shot candidates, Reps. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) and Ted Yoho (R-Fla.) only received three and two votes each.
Additionally, freshman Rep. Brian Babin (R-Texas) voted “present” rather than voting for anyone. And two Republican lawmakers voted for people who aren’t even members of the House: Rep. Gary Palmer (R-Ala.) for Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), and Rep. Curt Clawson (R-Fla.) for Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.).
Many of the votes for GOP candidates apart from Boehner drew murmurs and sometimes even outright laughter in the House chamber. The votes for Paul and Sessions drew the most derision from fellow lawmakers.
Most of the lawmakers who voted against Boehner are hard-line conservatives who particularly opposed the GOP leadership’s handling of the government-wide spending bill last month. Many conservatives had urged leadership to defund President Obama’s executive action to shield illegal immigrants from deportation. But the “cromnibus” spending package didn’t include such a provision.
Many lawmakers were absent from the vote due to former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo’s (D) funeral in New York and snow in Washington, D.C. Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), a favorite for Speaker among some Tea Party supporters, didn’t make it in time due to the weather but said he would have voted for Boehner.
On the Democratic side, only four lawmakers voted for candidates aside from House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). Rep. Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.) voted for former Secretary of State Colin Powell, while Rep. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) voted for civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.). And Rep. Gwen Graham (D-Fla.), who stated she wouldn’t support Pelosi on the campaign trail, voted for Cooper.
Below is a list of the Republican lawmakers who voted against Boehner:
Justin Amash (R-Mich.)
Brian Babin (R-Texas)
Rod Blum (R-Iowa)
Dave Brat (R-Va.)
Jim Bridenstine (R-Okla.)
Curt Clawson (R-Fla.)
Scott DesJarlais (R-Tenn.)
Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.)
Scott Garrett (R-N.J.)
Chris Gibson (R-N.Y.)
Louie Gohmert (R-Texas)
Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.)
Tim Huelskamp (R-Kan.)
Walter Jones (R-N.C.)
Steve King (R-Iowa)
Thomas Massie (R-Ky.)
Mark Meadows (R-N.C.)
Richard Nugent (R-Fla.)
Gary Palmer (R-Ala.)
Bill Posey (R-Fla.)
Scott Rigell (R-Va.)
Marlin Stutzman (R-Ind.)
Randy Weber (R-Texas)
Daniel Webster (R-Fla.)
Ted Yoho (R-Fla.)
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