GOP Reps Claim They’re Being Punished for Voting Against Boehner

Politics and political deals involve a lot of quid pro quo; case in point, some Republican members of Congress are publicly complaining tonight about being punished after they voted against reelecting John Boehner as Speaker of the House for another two-year term.

First, Congressman Tim Huelskamp. He tweeted this anti-Boehner message out before the vote today:

I am not voting for #Boehner. Honest. Principled. Conservative. Leadership is what I want.

— Cong. Tim Huelskamp (@CongHuelskamp) January 6, 2015

Now, Huelskamp was reportedly set to chair one of the House subcommittees in the new Congress, but hours after he voted against Boehner, he told reporters he was turned down from that role in the intervening time.

And Huelskamp claims he isn’t alone. There are reports tonight that Daniel Webster (the non-Boehner candidate to get the most votes) and Richard Nugent (one of the people that voted for Webster) both will be kicked out of the House Rules Committee. Webster reacted to the news, acknowledging its veracity and saying it isn’t fair, at the very least, for Nugent to be punished:

Daniel Webster says he's going to fight to get Nugent back on Rules. He doesn't feel like it was fair to kick Nugent off Committee.

— Matt Fuller (@MEPFuller) January 6, 2015

Webster on being booted from Rules: "My philosophy is don't burn any bridges, don't make it personal, but that's not everybody's philosophy"

— Matt Fuller (@MEPFuller) January 6, 2015

Daniel Webster on being kicked off Rules Committee: "I felt like I'd been a pretty loyal member, but I expected it *could* happen."

— Matt Fuller (@MEPFuller) January 6, 2015

And both men are getting support from colleagues who also opposed Boehner:

#Speaker Boehner kicked Webster and Nugent off Rules Committee 4 voting against Boehner. No room for intimidation tactics. I stand w/them.

— Steve King (@SteveKingIA) January 6, 2015

Ted Yoho is circulating letter to Republicans trying to force Boehner to reinstate booted members to committees.

— Lauren French (@laurennfrench) January 6, 2015

And on top of all that, Congressman Randy Weber (who backed Louie Gohmert‘s bid for speakership) says he’d been told after the vote that his name has been removed as a lead sponsor of a nuclear energy bill. Boehner’s office denied such a call was made.

[image via Medill DC/Flickr]

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Follow Josh Feldman on Twitter: @feldmaniac