Rep. Paul Gosar to Vote Against Boehner as Speaker on Tuesday

Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona says he will vote against retaining John Boehner as Speaker of the House.

“Trust is a series of promises kept; my vote for new leadership reflects a promise I made to voters when they elected me,” Gosar writes in a news release sent out Sunday. “I cannot stand beside the same leadership that has offered up bills too large to read, used parliamentary tricks to bring bills to the floor and has refused to take swift action against the president and his Administration’s unconstitutional actions.”

Gosar is the fourth Republican member of Congress to declare he’ll vote against Boehner on Tuesday. Reps. Ted Yoho (FL), Jim Bridenstine (OK) and Thomas Massie (KY) have also called for new leadership. Yoho went so far as to offer himself as a possible substitute to Boehner.

The Arizona representative is a dentist in private life.

“My vote will reflect not just my convictions but the will of so many across the nation,” his release declared. “Since coming to D.C. in 2011, I have attended hearings, briefings and meetings about the serious problems facing our country. I travel home to my district every week and I have listened to the people and their concerns. The common theme wherever I go is that we can’t just keep doing things the way they ‘always’ have been done. We can’t continue to operate with a lack of transparency and with a blind eye to the will of the people.”

The Congressional Research Service reports that 29 Republican members would need to vote for someone other than Boehner to force the vote to a second ballot. That vote is scheduled for Tuesday when the newly-elected Congress convenes.

Gosar voted for Boehner in 2013. But he won’t this time. “America needs bold leadership from the House of Representatives that breaks from the status quo and embraces an open and transparent legislative process,” he writes. “Our country deserves getting back to regular order and holding wrongdoers accountable for their actions. This will require courage, not fear. It is time for leadership that will stand up for America and the Constitution.”