On Friday, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) announced his resignation from Congress effective October 30. The office of speaker is the highest position in the U.S. House of Representatives, and serves as the de facto leader of the majority party in that chamber. Boehner, who has served 24 years in Congress, first assumed the speakership in 2011. His decision to step down before the end of his third term as speaker will leave a vacancy in the House’s top job, and will likely result in a reshuffling of other leadership posts. The current House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and Rep. Daniel Webster (R-FL) have so far declared their candidacies for the position. However, no date has yet been announced for the House to elect its next speaker.
Speaker Boehner previously served as the chairman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, which has jurisdiction over education and workforce training legislation. During his tenure as committee chair, Boehner oversaw the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act—the current version of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. He was also a central figure in last reauthorization of the Perkins Act in 2006. Rep. John Kline (R-MN), the current chairman of the committee who has announced his own departure from Congress at the end of 2016, said of Boehner, “His leadership of the committee made a positive difference in the lives of countless students, workers, employers and retirees.”
For continuing updates on the leadership changes coming Capitol Hill, as well as analysis on how these shakeups will impact CTE policy and funding going forward, be sure to check back to the CTE Policy Watch Blog.
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