US House Speaker Faces Opposition From Fellow Congressmen Over Budget Deal

WASHINGTON, January 3 (Sputnik) – The Speaker of the US House of Representatives John Boehner may be ousted from his position, as he faces opposition from members of his own, Republican, party and voters' disapproval over government funding, as recent statements from Congressmen indicate.

"He relinquished the power of the purse, and with it he lost my vote," Oklahoma Congressman Jim Bridenstine said in a statement, titled "I Will Not Vote for John Boehner" Friday.

Bridenstine claims that Boehner's $1.1 trillion short-term government funding deal with US President Barack Obama "went too far", adding that the deal "sufficiently undermines the checks and balances enshrined in the Constitution".

North Carolina Republican Congressman Walter Jones has also announced that he was organizing a group of other Republican congressmen to oppose Boehner's continued leadership of the House.

"I've already said I cannot vote in good conscience for John Boehner," Jones stated in a local North Carolina radio interview before Christmas.

The Republican Congressman added that he had been meeting "with a small group" of "about 16, 18" other Congressmen who are prepared to name a different Speaker when the vote takes place next week.

A telephone interview poll, released on Friday, shows significant disapproval for Boehner among Republican voters. According to the survey, conducted by Democratic pollster Patrick Cadell, 60 percent of self-identifying Republican voters in the United States would prefer a House Speaker other than John Boehner. Over 60 percent of survey participants said they believed Boehner had been ineffective in opposing Obama's agenda.

A new US House speaker will be chosen on Tuesday, January 6, on the first day of the 114th session of Congress. So far, no alternative candidate has been named by Boehner's opponents.

In December, the House of Representatives passed the $1.1 trillion spending bill just hours before the US government's spending authority was due to expire. Republicans were reluctant to vote for the bill, as they were dissatisfied with Obama's executive action on immigration.