As House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) prepares to step down from her congressional leadership position ahead of a new legislative session during which Republicans will be in control, the chamber honored her with a ceremony this week.
Along with presenting an official portrait of the California Democrat, a number of current and former colleagues spoke glowingly about her career in public office.
Among those who offered such remarks on Wednesday was former House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), who held the gavel between 2011 and 2015. Known for shedding tears at the drop of a hat, his emotional nature was again on full display as he gushed about his affection for Pelosi.
“Madame speaker, you and I have disagreed politically on many things over the years, but we were never disagreeable with each other,” he said.
After recognizing her “gracious” attitude, Boehner was clearly struggling to hold back his tears as he shared a message from his daughters.
“My girls told me, ‘Tell the speaker how much we admire her,’” he said. “As if you couldn’t tell, my girls are Democrats.”
For a number of Boehner’s conservative critics, the remarks seemed to reflect that he shares at least some of his daughter’s leftist ideals.
For her part, former Fox News Channel contributor Monica Crowley tweeted: “John Boehner crying as he paid tribute to Nancy Pelosi is the perfect symbol of uniparty pathology.”
Right-wing pundit Ben Shapiro seemed to agree, calling Boehner’s tearful tribute “a pretty good summation of Republican leadership over the past couple of decades.”
Of course, at least a few conservatives were willing to cut him some slack given his propensity to weep openly.
in fairness, Boehner cries about everything
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) December 15, 2022
Following the ceremony, Pelosi addressed Boehner’s remarks by asserting that she would have been “disappointed if he did not get emotional.”
During the event, she took a moment to reflect on her own legacy as the Democratic Party’s longest-serving House leader as well as the first woman to ever occupy the position.
“I’m really honored my members had the courage to elect a woman speaker,” Pelosi said. “That is not without courage. Somewhere in this Congress is a future woman speaker-to-be. I’m honored to be the first, but it will only be a good accomplishment if I’m not that last.”
