For all the angst over whether John Boehner would face an uprising from discontented conservatives, the House Speaker sailed to re-election Thursday during a closed-door meeting of Republicans.
He won’t formally become the Speaker for the 114th Congress until a public vote in January, when the full House must elect him. But he was backed in a voice vote by Republican members Thursday afternoon, making him the Speaker-elect with little of the commotion some might have expected after Boehner’s public battles with some lawmakers on his right flank.
One member in the meeting, Rep. Mo Brooks of Alabama, said that only "one or two" people voiced opposition to Boehner during the voice vote.
Other leaders, including Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Majority Whip Steve Scalise, were also re-elected -- without opposition.
In the elections' only contested seat, Republicans picked Indiana Rep. Luke Messer over Tom Reed of New York on the second ballot for the position of Republican Policy Committee Chair.