Former House Speaker John Boehner called his former colleague Jason Chaffetz an “asshole” and “total phony” during a lengthy feature interview with Politico Magazine.
The profile, released on Sunday, promised an “unchained” Boehner in his most revealing and candid interview since retiring from Congress in 2015. While discussing Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) taking over the House Oversight Committee following Rep. Jason Chaffetz’s (R-Utah) June resignation from Congress, Boehner let loose.
In addition to calling Chaffetz a “total phony” who was more concerned with self-promotion than legislation, Boehner ripped Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), the founding chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, calling him a “legislative terrorist.” Some Republicans wanted Jordan to take over the committee after Chaffetz’s resignation. Boehner added,
“Gowdy—that’s my guy, even though he doesn’t know how to dress,” he says. Then Boehner leans back in his chair. “Fuck Jordan. Fuck Chaffetz. They’re both assholes.”
Chaffetz left Congress on June 30 and started working as a paid Fox News contributor on July 1.
The former House speaker has spoken out against the current Republican administration in the past. At an energy conference in Houston in May, Boehner, who supported Trump during the campaign, said the president’s first several months in office have been mostly a “disaster.”
He also told the conference that he has no regrets about retiring from office.
“I wake up every day, drink my morning coffee and say hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah,” he told attendees.
The Politico profile suggests a far more complicated reality.
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