More than 150 board buses to witness Boehner take oath as Speaker

More than 400 travel to Washington for ceremonies making him House speaker.


See Boehner sworn in

U.S. Rep. John Boehner, R-West Chester Twp., will be sworn in as the 61st speaker of the House on Wednesday afternoon, around 12:45 p.m.

Watch our media partners Local 12 beginning at noon, when the 112th Congress convenes.

The vote to make Boehner speaker of the House will be about 45 minutes after the new Congress is in session.

WEST CHESTER TWP. —It was still dark just after 6 a.m. this morning when more than 150 family, local friends and political supporters of Speaker of the House-elect John Boehner left from Wetherington Golf and Country Club for Washington, D.C.

In all, three buses each carrying 50-plus passengers left about 6:05 a.m. It is expected the trip to D.C. to witness the ceremonies around Boehner’s swearing-in will take about nine to 10 hours.

The Tylersville Road entrance at Wetherington was backed up with cars arriving around 5:30 a.m. Many used the open exit to enter the gated community because the entrance remained closed.

Vehicles were parked in the lot in front of the clubhouse and people gathered briefly before three Coswell VIP Services buses arrived around 5:40 a.m.

Passengers started loading luggage in the storage area beneath the buses and boarded immediately. A sign in the front window of each bus indicated whether it was the White, Red or Blue bus so travelers could board the bus they were assigned to.

Most people were seated by 6 a.m. with a few — including John and Lorna Allgaier, friends and neighbors of Boehner and part owners Jag’s Steak and Seafood — arriving just before the buses departed.

Television screens flipped down, interior lights turned off and the caravan of buses made their way out of Wetherington, reaching Interstate 75 at 6:10 a.m.

Among the people making the trip was Brenda Burer, who said she has known John since 1981 when she was on Fairfield City Council and he was a Union Twp. trustee.

“We’re really proud of John,” Burer said this morning.

Boehner’s brother, Drew, was traveling in the caravan with his wife, Debbie, their three sons — Andy, 31, Matt, 25, and Kevin, 20 — and daughter Emily, 21. He said he was looking forward to the trip, as it has been several years since he had been to D.C.

“I kind of want to just relax on the trip,” he said, “The last time I was in D.C. was when John was first in office”.

Emily Boehner said she was planning to sleep and read on the bus. The family recently took a trip to Florida so the 10-hour ride will be a lot shorter than the 16-hour drive back from Florida.

When they arrive in D.C., family, 8th Congressional District residents and Boehner supporters will attend a reception at the Capitol Hill Club, a private club about a block and a half from the Capitol.

Boehner’s anticipated swearing-in as the 61st speaker of the House will be around 12:45 p.m. Wednesday, Boehner spokesman Cory Fritz said, about 45 minutes after the 112th Congress convenes.

The vote for speaker will be by roll call, the only time — absent a malfunction — the electronic voting devices won’t be used, according to the House Parliamentarian Office.

Once elected, the dean of the House — the longest serving member of the House (Rep. John Dingell, D-Michigan) — will swear in Boehner. Then Boehner will swear in the members of the 112th Congress.

Fritz said this first session of the 112th Congress should adjourn at about 4:50 p.m.

Before the activities Wednesday, that morning Boehner will attend a private prayer service at St. Peter’s Catholic Church on Capitol Hill.

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