WXXI News has contacted federal representatives from our area, asking for their take on the resignation of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rep. John Boehner.
Western New York Republican Congressman Chris Collins said "John Boehner is a tremendous leader and close friend. His institutional knowledge and pragmatism will be sorely missed. I look forward to seeing who our conference elects as the new speaker and will be actively engaged in that process."
Southern Tier Republican Congressman Tom Reed said he appreciates Boehner’s leadership over the last 5 years. "He worked diligently to advance the conservative principles necessary to lead America forward. I respect his decision to step down as Speaker of the House and believe that it is only fair to allow him to depart gracefully. I am hopeful that as a party, we can rally around the next Speaker, so we can continue to fight back against the destructive agenda that is hurting job creation, causing stagnated wages and forcing the top-down regulations onto our small businesses and families. I care about the future of our nation and believe we have the opportunity for a fresh start. We must come together as a country to creatively solve our challenges and not let politics triumph over good governance and putting the people's business first.”
Republican Congressman John Katko from Wayne County thanked the Speaker for his dedicated service to our country. "I look forward to getting through leadership elections so we can quickly resume work on critical issues."
Senator Charles Schumer released a statement to WXXI: “Speaker John Boehner is a decent, principled conservative man who tried to do the right thing under almost impossible circumstances. He will be missed by Republicans and Democrats alike. Let us hope the Republican majority, which Speaker Boehner played a large role in creating, learns the right lesson from his resignation: to work with Democrats in a constructive way, rather than let a handful of extreme right-wingers dictate his party’s policy.”