After serving over four years as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, John Boehner has announced his plans to retire. He was elected to represent the Eighth Congressional District of Ohio for a 13th term in November 2014. Boehner had intened to leave his position at the end of last year.
In a statement on Friday, Boehner said: "My mission every day is to fight for a smaller, less costly, and more accountable government. Over the last five years, our majority has advanced conservative reforms that will help our children and their children. I am proud of what we have accomplished. "The first job of any Speaker is to protect this institution that we all love.
It was my plan to only serve as Speaker until the end of last year, but I stayed on to provide continuity to the Republican Conference and the House. It is my view, however, that prolonged leadership turmoil would do irreparable damage to the institution. To that end, I will resign the Speakership and my seat in Congress on October 30."