Free Republic

Speaker of the House John Boehner acknowledged Wednesday that he punished two Republicans who opposed his re-election by stripping them of committee assignments. Reps. Daniel Webster and Richard Nugent, both Republicans, lost their seats on the House Rules Committee hours after voting for someone else for speaker on Tuesday. In total, 25 Republicans voted against Boehner. “Because of some of the activities on the floor,” Boehner explained in a Wednesday news conference, “two of our members weren’t put back on the committee immediately.” Referencing the vote, Boehner said he plans to talk to his members about how to unify as...

Updated, 1:10 p.m. | The 114th Congress is barely underway, but Randy Weber, R-Texas, says he’s already paying a price for making known his intentions to vote against another term in leadership for Speaker John A. Boehner. Weber, who is backing the long-shot speakership bid of fellow Texan Rep. Louie Gohmert over Boehner, has been removed as the lead sponsor of a nuclear energy bill expected to brought to the floor in the 114th. During a small meeting Tuesday of about 10 members of the Texas delegation to discuss the speaker’s race, Science, Space and Technology Chairman Lamar Smith, R-Texas,...

John Boehner is getting revenge. He secured his third term as speaker Tuesday afternoon, losing 25 votes on the House floor to three relatively unknown members of the House Republican Conference. But he’s already punishing those who betrayed him. First up: Florida Reps. Daniel Webster and Richard Nugent. The pair will be booted from their spots on the House Rules Committee, according to sources familiar with the decision. Webster ran against Boehner (R-Ohio) for speaker Tuesday, and Nugent supported his fellow Floridian. The Rules Committee is a panel appointed by the speaker, and it controls the flow of legislation to...