WASHINGTON — Maine’s two representatives in Congress were as surprised as any at House Speaker John Boehner’s decision to resign from his leadership post, and from his house seat at the end of next month.
What his decision will mean to an already fractured Congress, and the potential for a government shutdown, is far from certain.
U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree says while there had been a lot of talk about Boehner being challenged by the far-right members of his caucus and rumors that that he might not run for re-election next year, everybody was surprised at his announcement.
The 1st District Democrat says she believes he did what he thought was right for the House, as Congress stares down a possible government shutdown.
“He said, ‘OK, I will put together a continuing resolution that requires Republicans and Democrats to pass it, people think that’s what we should do,’” she says. “On the other hand, he knew by doing that bringing it to the floor, passing the bill and keeping the government open he would probably lose his job. So, he did what he felt was the right thing.”
Pingree expects Congress will pass what’s called a clean continuing resolution to keep the federal government operating for several months while budget talks continue.
Republican 2nd District U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin announced his support for that strategy earlier in the week, but was unavailable for comment on the political situation following Boehner’s announcement.
Poliquin did issue a statement thanking Boehner for his service and wishing him well.
University of Maine political science professor Mark Brewer says that Boehner will likely be able to push through a bill to keep government operating.
“In terms of getting a clean CR passed, I think this increases the chance of that,” he says. “This means that Speaker Boehner is, I don’t want to say completely unfettered, but relatively unfettered moving forward.”
But not everyone takes that view.
With all of the uncertainty around House leadership, some believe the likelihood of a government partial shutdown next week has increased.
“I think it could very easily go either way, but I think because it is going to be such a distraction this increases the chances overall that there will be a government shutdown,” says Jim Melcher, a political science professor at the University of Maine at Farmington.
Both Brewer and Pingree acknowledge that a shutdown is still possible, with only a few days to get a short-term funding bill approved once Congress returns to Washington on Monday.
Brewer says the turmoil created by Boehner’s resignation raises a lot of questions.
“What does that in the long term for the kind of acrimony in the chamber, acrimony in the Republican caucus?” he says. “I think those questions have to be left unanswered.”
And Pingree says while it is important to keep the government operating, even for just a few more months, she fears what may happen with a new House leadership that could be more dogmatic on such issues as funding for Planned Parenthood.
“No one wants to see a government shutdown, but the bad news is it could be two or three months from now we are in exactly the same place,” she says. “New leaders, same problems, and you know we can’t keep the government operating. But I hope we can next week.”
The potential of a partial shutdown is already having ripples in Maine. State officials have sent notices of potential layoffs to some state workers who are entirely funded with federal dollars. Those notices are required under union contracts.
This article appears through a media partnership with Maine Public Broadcasting Network.