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In a stunning announcement, John Boehner announced he will resign his position as House Speaker and with it his House seat at the end of October, this also comes in the backdrop of Congress adverting a government shutdown.

Mr. Boehner, was elected to Congress in 1990, and became Speaker of the House of Representatives in 2010, after the wave election which swept the Republican Party back into control for the first time since 2006.

The job as speaker hasn’t been an easy rode for Boehner, who has had to deal with contentious members of his own party; most notably “Tea Party” elements who want a more confrontational approach, especially when dealing with President Obama.

Recently, Boehner had been trying to maneuver between crafting a strategy to keep the government open, at the same time facing enormous pressure from conservatives who would not support anything that doesn’t defund Planned Parenthood.

In a statement Boehner stated, “The first job of any speaker is to protect this institution that we all love,” continuing, “It was my plan to only serve as speaker until the end of last year, but I stayed on to provide continuity to the Republican conference and the House. It is my view, however, that prolonged leadership turmoil would do irreparable damage to the institution. To that end, I will resign the speakership and my seat in Congress on Oct. 30.”

The New York Times reported that It will be up to a majority of the members of the House now to choose a new leader, and the leading candidate is Representative Kevin McCarthy of California, the majority leader, who is viewed more favorably by the House’s more conservative members. The preferred candidate among many Republicans, Representative Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, has said he does not want the job.

John Boehner has been a great leader of the Republican Party and the House of Representatives,” Mr. Ryan said Friday in a statement. “This was an act of pure selflessness. John’s decades of service have helped move our country forward, and I deeply value his friendship. We will miss John, and I am confident our conference will elect leaders who are capable of meeting the challenges our nation faces. I wish John and his family well as he begins the next phase of his life.”

Whoever becomes the next House Speaker will still face the same acrimonious and rancorous division on the way forward, especially in how to deal with a Democratic president who rarely accepts any compromise when dealing with Congress.

Republican Presidential candidate Senator Ted Cruz of Texas has consistently had harsh words about Boehner’s stewardship while he served as speaker and spoke out on issues he disagreed with him on.

“The early reports are discouraging,” Mr. Cruz said. “If it is correct that the speaker, before he resigns, has cut a deal with Nancy Pelosi to fund the Obama administration for the rest of this year, to fund Obamacare, to fund executive amnesty, to fund Planned Parenthood, to fund implementation of this Iran deal, and then presumably to land a cushy K Street job after joining with the Democrats to implement all of President Obama’s priorities, that is not the behavior one would expect from a Republican speaker of the House.”

Cruz never stated who he would like as Speaker, but reiterated that House Republicans need to “select a strong conservative.”

The Republican base often have been frustrated that since they gained control of the House in 2010, and the Senate in 2014, they wanted a more confrontational strategy when dealing with the president, and adhere to more conservative principles in governing have felt they have been let down by the Republican leadership.

Republicans have to also understand that unless you have control of the presidency it will be difficult to pass any core conservative legislation.

President Obama is different than Bill Clinton when he served as president. Clinton realized after the Democrats lost control of the full Congress in 1994, he needed to work with the Republicans if he wanted to move forward with legislation he supported.

Clinton moved to the center after his party’s loss, President Obama moved further left after he lost the House and Senate in subsequent elections, and his prime motives was to have the Republicans compromise their principles and he would keep his.

Whether you agree or not on how the president worked with Congress it does not matter, Obama is still president and the Republican Party and whoever becomes speaker will have to deal with this reality.

It will be interesting to see who finally emerges as the next Speaker of the House of Representatives.