US House Speaker John Boehner on Sunday downplayed any possible risk of his ouster from the top post over the prevailing disagreements with fellow Republicans on fighting against President Barack Obama’s executive orders on immigration.
According to the reports, Boehner’s allies fear he might face a tough challenge from his own party’s right flank after the speaker opted to drop attack on Obama’s executive actions in order to prevent a looming DHS shutdown.
While talking at a television program, Boehner said there was no threat to his leadership as the differences with fellow conservatives were only over tactics and not goals.
“We do have some members who disagree from time to time over the tactics that we decide to employ. But remember that Republicans are united in this idea that the president has far exceeded his constitutional authority,” Boehner said during an interview to the CBS’ ‘Face the Nation’ program.
The House has been witnessing a pandemonium over Obama’s executive actions over immigration, which has stalled a crucial funding bill of Department of Homeland Security. On Saturday, Congress partially averted a possible shutdown of the security agency by bringing a one-week stopgap spending bill.
The US House of Representatives passed the bill for one-week spending fix on Saturday when only few hours were left for the lapse of funding deadline.
The House voted 357-60 for the bill and temporarily averted the shutdown of the Homeland Security Department for at least a week or more.
A leading conservative House member came in support of Boehner, saying there’s no threat to his position.
Rep. Jim Jordan, an Ohio Republican chairing the hard-line House Freedom Caucus, said that Boehner’s decision to advance a one-week measure for keeping the domestic security agency run after dropping the idea to attack President Obama’s immigration actions was the call of the hour which won’t cost him his job.
When asked whether Boehner’s position is at threat over the issue, Jordan said, “No, that’s not the point.”
Jordan, however, admitted that he hasn’t had any word with his any conservative colleagues in House over ousting Boehner.