February 2, 2016

Transfers $1.2 Million to NRCC, Plans Events for Early 2016 in Support of Conservative Majority in House

WASHINGTON, D.C. – As Speaker of the House, he assembled what the Washington Post calls “the largest, most sophisticated fundraising operation ever employed by a congressional leader.”  And despite his decision to retire from Congress last fall, former House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) will remain active in support of the effort to keep and expand a conservative majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, POLITICO and the Post reported this week.

POLITICO’s Jake Sherman reports:

“[Speaker] Boehner is quietly beginning to rev up his post-speakership political operation, dishing money from his campaign coffers to the party and planning a swing of fundraisers this year to bolster the House GOP.  In December, two months after leaving the speakership, Boehner transferred $1.2 million to the National Republican Congressional Committee; that brought the total amount he funneled to the campaign arm in 2015 to a whopping $8 million. . .

“Boehner also gave $800,000 directly to members in 2015.  And Boehner, who famously traveled nonstop for his colleagues when he was speaker, is resuming his political fundraising. He recently spoke at a fundraiser for freshman Reps. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) and Carlos Curbelo (R-Fla.) in Florida. And this spring, he has three fundraisers already scheduled, including one appearance on behalf of North Carolina Rep. Virginia Foxx, a former member of Boehner’s House Republican leadership team.”

Paul Kane of the Washington Post adds that the former Speaker will continue to use his political assets to support his former colleagues and the majority he helped build in the House:


“John A. Boehner may be gone from elective office, but the former House speaker headed into the political afterlife with more than $2.7 million in leftover political cash that he will use to remain active in helping his former colleagues in the Capitol. . .

 “David [Schnittger], Boehner’s former deputy chief of staff who is serving as his spokesman, said the former speaker will continue to help politically, just at a much reduced scale from the past five years, when some months he spent more time on the road raising campaign cash for colleagues than he did in Washington or southwestern Ohio.  [Schnittger], who now works at Squire Patton Boggs, said Boehner held a fund-raising event for several members in January and has a few more planned for the spring.”

The Middletown Journal reported January 28 that Speaker Boehner will deliver the keynote address at this year’s Butler County [OH] GOP Lincoln Day Dinner, to be held March 12 in West Chester, OH, where the former speaker and wife Debbie have lived for more than 30 years.

More from POLITICO:

 “The former speaker has receded from the spotlight but is still providing millions to elect House Republicans. . .

“‘He’s kept a low profile publicly since leaving office, but his interest in supporting the team and the cause continues,’ said David Schnittger, a longtime Boehner insider who serves as his spokesman. ‘It’s in his blood.’

Speaker Boehner’s post-congressional political operation is headed by John Criscuolo, a longtime aide to the former speaker.