FOXNews.com: Gavel Drama Brewing for Boehner?

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Gavel Drama Brewing for Boehner? Jan 3rd 2013, 16:20 At least 25 of the House's 233 Republicans are said to have reservations about voting John Boehner in for another term as speaker, Fox News has learned -- a number significant enough to tee up a potential drama on the floor after the new Congress is seated Thursday afternoon.  The 11-term congressman, who's endured his share of political turbulence, presumably enters the speakership election with the upper hand. So far, a single viable Republican challenger has not emerged and the rules of the vote tend to work in Boehner's favor. Boehner told Fox News on Thursday he's not worried about the vote.  But Boehner has faced a string of difficulties in the caucus over the past several weeks, most recently after a decision to postpone a vote on aid for Superstorm Sandy victims -- he assuaged the concerns of New York-area lawmakers late Wednesday with a commitment to bring the aid up for a vote in two installments over the next couple weeks.  Conservatives, though, were already miffed that Boehner, early on in talks over the fiscal crisis, agreed to new revenue. Boehner suffered another blow two weeks ago when his "Plan B" fiscal bill failed to garner enough Republican backers. But the final fiscal-crisis bill, which arrived from the Senate early Tuesday morning, ultimately garnered thin support from the GOP ranks.  Amid the angst, a draft plan was supposedly circulating on Capitol Hill laying out a possible path for challenging Boehner. And Fox News has learned at least 25 House members have expressed reservations.  That doesn't necessarily mean Boehner is in danger, but it could drag out the process and cause some turmoil on the floor.  The process for the vote is a bit complicated. For the time being, the only candidates for nomination would be Boehner and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi.  The only way for someone to win the speakership is to win a majority (more than 50 percent) of all votes cast. If everybody votes, that means the winner must ultimately attract 218 votes. There are 234 Republicans in the new Congress, but if Boehner loses 17 of them -- or 25 of them -- it's enough to kick the vote to a second ballot, something that hasn't happened since 1923.  Pelosi could conceivably win the speakership, but only if Republicans cross over to vote for her or if enough Republicans actually abstain from voting. More likely, if there are enough defections, is that the vote would move into multiple rounds of ballots, with anti-Boehner conservative members basically trying to drum up a viable Republican challenger to Boehner on the spot.  Ron Meyer, press secretary for the anti-Boehner group American Majority Action, told FoxNews.com that a document circulating about a possible Boehner challenge is legitimate, though he wasn't sure who started circulating it.  "I've talked to members who've seen it," he said.  A copy of the supposed plan posted by Breitbart.com lays out a two-stage process for challenging Boehner. First, it calls for somebody coming forward to urge a vote by secret ballot -- which would allow members to vote without fear of retaliation. Then, the document suggests, challengers could emerge.  Some on Capitol Hill, in both parties, were stoking the idea Wednesday that there was a rift emerging in the GOP leadership.  Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., claimed that Boehner and House Republican Leader Eric Cantor, who opposed the fiscal package Tuesday, were not on speaking terms. He said Cantor, who apparently had been pushing for a vote on the Sandy aid bill, did not find out about Boehner's decision to scratch it until Boehner's staff informed Republican lawmakers, who then told Cantor.  New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie also repeatedly referenced "palace intrigue" among the House GOP leadership, during a press conference Wednesday blasting Boehner over the Sandy bill delay.  Cantor's office voiced support for Boehner in a statement to Fox News.  "They remain in contact and have meetings together today. The Majority Leader supports the Speaker," Cantor's office said in a statement.  Fox News' Chad Pergram, Doug McKelway and Shannon Bream and FoxNews.com's Judson Berger contributed to this report.

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