Iowa Rep. Steve King calls for speaker with ‘bold vision’

When Congress convened in January, northwest Iowa's Rep. Steve King made clear he wouldn't support John Boehner as its leader.

He nominated someone else instead and agitated for a Republican insurrection.

'We need a Speaker of the House who carries in his bones the conviction of our oath,” the conservative Republican said.

In his very first vote in Congress, a newly elected Rod Blum went along, even though Boehner had campaigned for him around Cedar Rapids just months before,

'I was elected by Iowans to stand up to the status quo in Washington, D.C.,” Blum said then, 'and I refuse to turn my back on them with my first vote.”

Despite the attempt to oust him. Boehner was chosen to lead the House. GOP Iowa Rep. David Young was among those who supported him.

Now some eight months later - after Boehner announced Friday he would leave Congress - the reactions from King and Blum were far from gleeful that their nemesis finally had been dethroned.

King told the Omaha World Herald he thought Boehner 'handled himself with grace and class” in the announcement.

In a statement, King said there was no need to rush to find a new speaker and he urged his colleagues to hear the plans of all candidates for the job for dealing with an 'obstinate president.”

'We need a speaker who can offer a bold vision that inspires our conference as well as the American people we represent, and I look forward to a fresh strategy and new beginning,” his statement said.

For his part, Blum wished the speaker well.

'Serving in Congress means countless hours away from family and loved ones, and I thank Speaker Boehner for his service and for the sacrifices he and his family have made over the last 24 years,” Blum said in a statement. 'I wish him many happy years with his family as he opens a new chapter in his life.”

Some of their fellow Republicans - worried over what they saw as weak leadership in dealing with Democrats - were not so subdued.

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, who's running for president, received boisterous applause and a standing ovation when he informed a crowd at the Values Voter Summit in Washington that Boehner will resign.

'It's not about him or anyone else, and I'm not here to bash anyone, but it is time to turn the page and allow a new generation of leadership.” Rubio said.

Sen. Ted Cruz, also a presidential candidate and one of Boehner's loudest dissidents from the right, jokingly credited attendees at the summit for the resignation.

'You want to know how much each of you terrify Washington? Yesterday, John Boehner was Speaker of the House. Y'all come to town and somehow that changes,” Cruz said.

Businessman Donald Trump, also a GOP contender at the summit, allowed that 'some people like him on a personal basis,” but said 'we want to see the job being done properly. We want people who can get it done.”

The Washington Post and Reuters contributed to this report.