Boehner defectors booted from panel

Multiple House Republicans are facing apparent retribution for declining to support John Boehner’s (R-Ohio) reelection as Speaker.

Florida Republican Reps. Dan Webster and Richard Nugent have lost their spots on the House Rules Committee. A spokesman for the panel confirmed Webster and Nugent’s departures but didn’t elaborate on the circumstances.

{mosads}House Rules Committee Chairman Pete Sessions (R-Texas) did not express opposition to forcing two members off of his committee. Sessions, who supported Boehner’s candidacy, said the conference needed to reconcile after the “open fight” on the House floor.

“Our conference is going to find a way to get together, talk and heal itself, and it’s going to take us some time,” Sessions said.

The powerful Rules Committee controls how legislation is considered on the floor, with members appointed directly by the Speaker.

Webster ran against Boehner on Tuesday and attracted 12 votes, more than any of the other alternative candidates for Speaker. Nugent voted for Webster.

Nugent told The Hill he was informed he was losing the committee assignment after the Speaker vote. The congressman declined to comment further until he had a chance to talk with Boehner.

Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), who backed Webster for Speaker, accused Boehner of using “intimidation tactics.”

“Boehner kicked Webster and Nugent off Rules Committee 4 voting against Boehner. No room for intimidation tactics. I stand w/them,” King tweeted.

Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-Kan.) on Tuesday said he had a chairmanship taken away from him shortly after he announced he would vote against Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) for Speaker.

Boehner was elected to a third term as Speaker with 216 votes on Tuesday, with 25 Republicans defecting in a failed attempt to force a second ballot. 

One of the defectors was Rep. Randy Weber (R-Texas), who says he’s already suffering retribution.

Weber, who voted for Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) for Speaker, was originally slated to be the sponsor of a noncontroversial Science, Space and Technology Committee bill that reached the House floor this week. The measure establishes a Department of Energy research program on low-dose radiation.

Rep. Randy Hultgren (R-Ill.) is now the sponsor of the bill, which was introduced Tuesday.

“The congressman was supposed to introduce the Low-Dose Radiation Research Act,” Weber spokeswoman Courtney Weaver said in an email.

— This story was last updated at 8:35 p.m.