John Boehner

John Boehner is in a box. The House speaker's Republican caucus doesn't entirely trust him. His understudy, Majority Leader Eric Cantor, has set him up for a fall with the Tea Party set. Worst of all, his political arch rival is now praising him. "Speaker Boehner and myself had been in a series of conversations about doing the biggest possible deal," President Obama announced at a news conference Monday morning, confirming reports of...

Regarding the March 10 editorial " A grand bargain on the menu ": It may take more than an "asparagus marmalade" to woo the Republicans to consensus. Recall how for the past five years (including the 2008 campaign) Republicans were told all their babies were ugly. The jamming-through of the early Pelosi-Obama agenda is the main reason for the rise of an opposition tea party, which now stops the Republicans from moving forward. The nation has divided and sunk, spiritually and fiscally.

John A. Boehner was narrowly reelected speaker of the House on Thursday, giving him a another chance to lead the chamber — a task that has been difficult for him over the past two years. The Ohio Republican survived a mini-rebellion among the most conservative members of the GOP caucus to win his second term as speaker. Twelve Republican defected, with 10 voting for other conservatives and two abstaining. The final vote was 220 for Boehner to 192 for House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.)

This just in from our colleague Anne Gearan , who's playing the role of foreign correspondent as she covers Secretary of State John Kerry' s first official overseas jaunt: During his failed 2004 presidential run, Kerry may have been ridiculed as a French-speaking, windsurfing East Coast aristocrat, but he was in his element in Paris on Wednesday. He spoke in effortless French, with a good accent to boot, to open a news conference with French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius , Gearan reports.

For the first six months of 2011, John Boehner was remarkably sure-footed in the high-wire act that is serving as the speaker of the (whole) House. But he stumbled — badly — this past week when he couldn't find the votes to pass his own debt-ceiling compromise bill Thursday night as the whole world watched. Boehner had maintained for days that while he didn't have the 217 "ayes" he needed to pass the bill yet, he would get them. But, robbed of the usual persuasion tactics on a tough vote — a bridge...

When he announced his first major piece of legislation in early February, House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) also faced his first rebellion. The government funding bill did not cut enough spending, rank-and-file Republicans protested, with the enormous freshman class leading the revolt. Rather than tamp down the complaints, Boehner ordered his lieutenants to rewrite the bill. It's an exercise that Boehner has repeated throughout his first year holding the speaker's gavel as...

In the end, it was the coup that wasn't. In a supposed nail-biter of a roll call vote Thursday, John Boehner was re-elected to be Speaker of the House with 220 votes. Twelve Republicans chose to abstain, vote present, or name an alternative. The people they selected ranged from other party leaders who clearly didn't want the job (Majority Leader Eric Cantor shook his head when he received three votes) to former representatives who couldn't even win re-election...

The freshman representative stood in front of a throng of puzzled-looking Republican congressmen. Their leader, John Boehner , had surprised the newcomer moments earlier by asking him to address a 2009 party retreat on how he had knocked off a Republican congressman in a primary . The freshman, a hard-charging Utah conservative named Jason Chaffetz , looked out at his new colleagues and said the first thing that came to his mind. "I am your worst...

Previous convictions and guilty pleas: Kristi Willis, $168,402, Doggett for Congress (Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Tex.), 1999-2004. Earl Allen Haywood, $174,725, Dole North Carolina Victory Committee (Sen. Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C.), 2002-2003. Russell Roberts, $617,562, Friends of John Boehner (Rep. John A. Boehner, R-Ohio), 1994-2003. Lydia Meuret, $119,021, American Dream PAC ( former congressman Henry Bonilla, R-Tex.), 1999-2002. Roger Chiang, $360,475, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, 2004.

Regarding the March 10 editorial " A grand bargain on the menu ": It may take more than an "asparagus marmalade" to woo the Republicans to consensus. Recall how for the past five years (including the 2008 campaign) Republicans were told all their babies were ugly. The jamming-through of the early Pelosi-Obama agenda is the main reason for the rise of an opposition tea party, which now stops the Republicans from moving forward. The nation has divided and sunk, spiritually and fiscally.

In the end, it was the coup that wasn't. In a supposed nail-biter of a roll call vote Thursday, John Boehner was re-elected to be Speaker of the House with 220 votes. Twelve Republicans chose to abstain, vote present, or name an alternative. The people they selected ranged from other party leaders who clearly didn't want the job (Majority Leader Eric Cantor shook his head when he received three votes) to former representatives who couldn't even win re-election (Florida Tea...

When John Boehner stood before the House, which had just elected him speaker of the 113th Congress, his voice cracked with emotion. Crying, of course, is Boehner's trademark — the Fix, a crier himself, admires the Ohio Republican's willingness to wear his heart on his sleeve — but these tears on Thursday were particularly apt. Sure, Boehner was moved by the moment. (He is only the 53rd person to hold the job.) But his tears could just have easily reflected his tremendously...

Here's a transcript of House Speaker John Boehner's address to the opening session of the 113th Congress, as prepared for delivery. More Coverage: See who are the new faces in Congress HOUSE SPEAKER JOHN BOEHNER: Leader Pelosi, members of the House and Senate, dear family and friends, fellow countrymen: We meet again at democracy's great port of call. Every two years, at this hour, the Constitution brings a new order to this House. It is an...

John A. Boehner was narrowly reelected speaker of the House on Thursday, giving him a another chance to lead the chamber — a task that has been difficult for him over the past two years. The Ohio Republican survived a mini-rebellion among the most conservative members of the GOP caucus to win his second term as speaker. Twelve Republican defected, with 10 voting for other conservatives and two abstaining. The final vote was 220 for Boehner to 192 for House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.)

In 1962, Casey Stengel, the longtime manager of the New York Yankees, came out of retirement to lead the New York Mets, an expansion team. That season the Mets lost an astounding 120 games — which is within about 20 games of what Stengel used to win with the Yankees — and prompted him to ask a memorable question: "Can't anybody here play this game?" That very question can now be asked about Washington. I found myself channeling Stengel last week when, incredibly, John Boehner, speaker of the House and leader of his...

The spectacular blow-up Thursday night of John Boehner 's " Plan B " has many in Washington questioning the Speaker's leadership. After he cancelled a vote on his fiscal cliff proposal, known as Plan B, because he failed to garner the votes, will he be able to hang onto his job ? If he can't deliver House Republicans on this vote, how can he on one that will likely include broader tax increases? How will he survive the humiliation of this defeat? But the real question about Boehner's leadership shouldn't be why...

On Wednesday night, senators took a break from the hard work of rescuing the nation's finances. They summoned Daniel Day-Lewis and Steven Spielberg, ordered in popcorn and watched the movie " Lincoln . " After Thursday night's debacle in the House — in which Speaker John Boehner had to pull his own tax bill from the floor for lack of votes — Republicans in that chamber may wish to schedule a movie night of their own. Perhaps they should...