Ted Yoho, the only Florida Republican on the House Agriculture Committee, got two votes for House speaker on the opening day of the 114th session of Congress. Yoho voted for himself and also got the support of Thomas Massie of Kentucky. Three other Republicans on the committee opposed the election of John Boehner to a third term as speaker, the top officer of the House. Boehner won with 216 votes.
Steve King of Iowa, who ranks fifth among the 26 Republicans on the Agriculture Committee, voted for Daniel Webster of Florida for speaker, Scott DesJarlais of Tennessee voted for Jim Jordan of Ohio, and Chris Gibson of New York state voted for Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California. Overall, 25 Republicans voted for someone other than Boehner or voted present, said Roll Call.
A veterinarian, Yoho, a Tea Party conservative, is beginning his second term representing north-central Florida and said House leadership should be more conservative. The Hill newspaper said most of the votes against Boehner came from hard-core conservatives who disliked Boehner’s handling of the $1 trillion government funding bill last month.
“In fact, it was the largest rebellion by a party against its incumbent speaker since the Civil War,” said the Washington Post, with 10 percent of GOP members opposing Boehner. Two of the dissidents, Webster and Richard Nugent of Florida, lost their seats on the House Rules Committee because of their opposition.