Republican John Boehner was re-elected and sworn in Tuesday as speaker of the US House of Representatives, overcoming a surprisingly robust attempt to oust him by two dozen hardcore conservatives. Boehner received 216 of the 408 votes cast in the chamber, winning as expected over Democratic leader and former House speaker Nancy Pelosi, who received 164 votes.
But 25 Republicans, including arch-conservatives Tim Huelskamp, anti-immigration crusader Steve King and Thomas Massie, voted against the incumbent by casting ballots for someone else as speaker. The House has 435 members, but several of them were absent Tuesday to attend the funeral of New York's former governor Mario Cuomo. Despite the rebellion's failure, the effort signals the potential pitfalls facing Boehner in the runup to the 2016 presidential election as he seeks to convince Americans of Republican unity and commitment to responsible governing.
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