Boehner, Staff, Packing Up to Leave Speaker's Office

It's almost moving day in the offices of House Speaker John Boehner, who will leave his seat on Friday, and not just for the Ohio Republican himself, but also for the 70 or so staffers who lose their jobs when he leaves office.

"When you have people like John Boehner and Paul Ryan, the people around them are very good people," New York Republican Rep. Tom Reed, told The Hill.  "They're staffers who know the place, know the business, know the policy."

A source close to Boehner told The Hill that he and chief of staff Mike Sommers have been trying to find jobs for the nearly 70 people who work for the outgoing speaker, who announced his resignation last month, and some may be asked to stay on with Ways and Means Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., who is expected to succeed Boehner.

"Obviously, I'm interested," Reed, who serves on the Ways and Means committee, said. "If we have an opportunity to fill, those are the type of people we look for."

Some of Boehner's top aides have already gotten other jobs, including Katie Boyd and Matt Wolking, who had been with his press office. Boyd will work for Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., and Wolking began working this week with the House Select Committee on Benghazi, which is lead by South Carolina GOP Rep. Trey Gowdy. Meanwhile, Kevin McGrann, who was in charge of the speaker's political operations, has been hired by AT&T's lobbying division.

House Republicans are expected to nominate Ryan to replace Boehner on Wednesday, with a house vote set for Thursday. Meanwhile, Boehner will leave office on Friday, and boxes are already piling up in his offices as staffers prepare to close up shop.

Florida Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen told The Hill that she believes Ryan will feel "very comfortable taking in many of Boehner's staff for the time being," as Ryan and Boehner are good friends.

And if Ryan takes the Speaker's seat as expected, that will leave the top spot on his Ways and Means Committee open. Reps. Kevin Brady of Texas, Pat Tiberi of Ohio, and Devin Nunes of California are vying for that seat.

Meanwhile, even though Boehner is leaving office, under federal law former speakers can choose a taxpayer-funded office for years, anywhere in the country, to facilitate matters related to his seat as Speaker.

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