Rep. Steve King, Iowa's darling of the tea party crowd, said he was one of a handful of Republicans who tried to resist Speaker John Boehner's push for a clean Department of Homeland Security funding bill – and that he is now being punished for his principles.
King, one of the GOP's staunchest and most verbal opponents of President Obama's executive action on immigration, said he joined with four dozen or so House colleagues to oppose the clean bill that Boehner wanted in order to keep some bargaining chips with Obama over amnesty. But their efforts failed. And now, he said, they're being targeted by Boehner for busting rank, CNN reported.
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For instance, King said Boehner's office suddenly canceled funding for "a very important diplomatic mission" he was taking. The trip had been "signed off on, certified, authorized" and completely booked – and then came the vote, and shortly after, the cancellation, King said.
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"Apparently, the people whom he most objects to for disagreeing with him are now grounded to the United States," King said, during a recent interview with a conservative radio host, Simon Conway.
To CNN, he was even blunter.
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"He's currently throwing tantrums," King said, of Boehner. "This is retribution on the highest scale."
A spokesman for Boehner's office declined to comment. But King said the speaker's response to dissension is only fueling further unhappiness with his leadership.
"[The] appetite is growing" to challenge him for his House post, King said, CNN reported.
