JOHN BOEHNER WOULD LEAVE THE JOB AS SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE

The leader of the U.S. House of Representatives, Speaker John Boehner, stunned Republicans on Friday, saying he would resign at the end of October, stepping aside from one of the most powerful jobs in Washington in the face of hardline conservative opposition that threatens an institutional crisis.

A constant focus of conservatives’ complaints, Boehner was facing the threat of a floor vote on whether he could stay on as speaker, a formal challenge that hasn’t happened in over 100 years. That was being pushed by Tea-Partiers convinced Boehner wasn’t fighting hard enough to strip women health care provider Planned Parenthood of government funds, even though doing so risked a government shutdown next week.

Boehner, second in line to succeed the president and into his 13th two-year term announced announced his decision in a closed-door session of the Republican caucus.