The Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, John Boehner (R-OH), announced he is retiring at the end of next month. The announcement was made on Friday, Sept. 25, a day after Pope Francis made a speech before a joint session of Congress.

Boehner, a Roman Catholic, has been working on bringing the Pope for a visit for 20 years. He had a private meeting with the Pontiff preceding the Pope’s address to Congress.

Boehner, 65, will not only step down as Speaker of the House, he will be leaving Congress altogether at the end of October.

The Speaker has been the object of tremendous criticism over his handling of several recent crises, particularly from party members to his right.

The timing of Boehner’s resignation will likely mean that he is free to work with Democrats on avoiding a looming government shutdown over funding of Planned Parenthood.

The election for the next Speaker must take place as soon as possible, as no government activity can occur without a Speaker in place, according to Chad Pegram, Capitol Hill correspondent for Fox News.

A Boehner aide released a statement that said: “Speaker Boehner believes that the first job of any speaker is to protect this institution and, as we saw yesterday with the Holy Father, it is the one thing that unites and inspires us all. The speaker believes putting members through prolonged leadership turmoil would do irreparable damage to the institution.”

The most likely replacement as Speaker is House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy(R-CA-23), but analysts suggested that due to recent upheavals in the House over several critical issues, it is too soon to make a confident guess about Boehner’s successor. McCarthy is a liberal Republican, except on issues like abortion.

After the Senate’s filibuster of the Nuclear Iran Deal on Thursday, Sept. 10, perhaps the only remaining way for Congressional opponents of the Nuclear Iran Deal to block the measure is if Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) authorizes the House of Representatives to sue President Obama for failing to comply with the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act (Corker-Cardin).

That avenue is wide open, at the moment, thanks to a decision by a Federal District Court in Washington, D.C. issued on Wednesday, Sept. 8.

The court in House of Representatives v. Burwell found that the House has standing, that is, the right, to bring a lawsuit against the executive branch of the U.S. government. The issue in the Burwell case is the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare).

The legal basis for the potential lawsuit would be the failure of the White House to comply with the requirements laid out in Corker-Cardin. Under that legislation passed earlier this year, the White House had to provide Congress with all documents relating to the Nuclear Iran Deal, whether codicils, side agreements, or any other agreements bearing on the issue, with or between the parties.

As was discovered this summer, there are two secret side agreements dealing with Iran’s nuclear program, the only parties to which are Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency.

The administration has never provided Congress with any documents relating to those side agreements. As was revealed yesterday in the JewishPress.com, the administration claimed, with a straight face, that it has provided Congress with all the documentation it has. The administration was able to make that claim because not one member of the U.S. government has a single piece of paper or digital notation regarding those side deals – those were all left with the Iranian negotiators and the members of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

The Iranians physically threatened to harm IAEA members if information about the secret side deals were shared with Americans, the Washington Free Beacon noted, quoting the Iranian Fars news service.

Of course the administration knew that Corker-Cardin required it to produce documentation regarding the side deals. Perhaps for this reason, first the administration tried to hide the fact that those side deals existed.

But the existence of those side agreements was discovered anyway, by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AK) and Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-KS), two U.S. legislators trying to represent the interests of America, who traveled to Vienna to meet with IAEA officials in July, and who were told about the side agreements then.

Once the existence of those side deals became known, the administration officials still hid critical information about them – even to themselves, if they can be believed – although those officials had to know they were violating Corker-Cardin all along by allowing every jot of documentation to remain beyond U.S. borders.

Think about the growing mound of lies and obstructions surrounding Messr.s Obama and Kerry’s Nuclear Iran Deal. What is in it that they are so convinced Americans would revolt if the truth about it were known?

Which brings Congress, finally, at this very late date, to the possibility of litigation.

This only works if the House of Representatives, as an institution, brings the case, and that requires Boehner’s approval. Although Boehner has been late to the party, he has now become alive to the need for a vigorous legal attack on the flawed legislation itself and on the administration’s abrogation of its obligations under Corker-Cardin.

Perhaps this newfound interest stems from very serious challenges to his leadership. Those challenges are coming from Republicans on his right who have been the strongest opponents to the treaty as a threat both to the United States, as well as to Israel and the rest of the civilized world.

If Boehner has finally awakened and is prepared to use all the tools at his disposal as leader of the Republican majority in the House – which has strongly and consistently opposed this capitulatory deal – something historic may happen.

The Senate voted 62-37 Tuesday night to pass a House bill that resumes clauses in the Patriot Ac t that expired Sunday night and left the NSA without power to collect phone data of suspected terrorists.

The bill revises the Patriot Act and ends the freedom of the NSA to collect data on everyone, even if not suspected of terror.

The new bill calls for phone companies to collect and forces the NSA to receive court permission to access records.

President Barack Obama signed the bill into law after tweeting:

Glad the Senate finally passed the USA Freedom Act. It protects civil liberties and our national security. I’ll sign it as soon as I get it.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who failed to block the passage of the bill, said, This is a step in the wrong direction. [It[ does not enhance the privacy protections of American citizens. And it surely undermines American security by taking one more tool from our warfighters at exactly the wrong time.”

House speaker John House Speaker John Boehner responded, “This legislation is critical to keeping Americans safe from terrorism and protecting their civil liberties. I applaud the Senate for renewing our nation’s foreign intelligence capabilities.”

With just two days to go before a “framework” agreement must be reached between the P5+1 countries and Iran regarding the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program, the Iranians suddenly issued a surprise punch to the solar plexus of the other parties.

Despite an already agreed upon commitment, Iran will not send out of the country the enriched uranium it has spent years and billions of dollars to create.

Iran had previously agreed to send its stockpile elsewhere – Russia was the agreed-upon destination – thereby preventing Iran from using the material it had already produced to create nuclear weapons.

This latest revelation came during the current round of talks between Iran and six major world powers – Britain, France, China, Russia, the United States and Germany – taking place at the Beau Rivage Palace Hotel in Lausanne, Switzerland.

The negotiators are working to hammer out a provisional framework deal by Tuesday night, which will be followed by a final agreement this summer.

But on Sunday, March 29, Iran’s deputy foreign minister Seyed Abbas Araqchi told the Iranian media: “There is no question of sending the stocks abroad,” Agence France-Presse reported.

Given Iran’s mercurial posturing throughout the negotiations and its latest brazen reneging on a critical aspect of the deal, critics of the U.S. administration’s diplomatic efforts, including Republicans in Congress as well as several sunni Arab nations in the Middle East and also Israel, are sure to become even more vociferously opposed to the signing of any deal.

If Iran is permitted to retain its already enriched uranium, it becomes much harder to state with confidence that it is not intending to continue its march towards nuclear weaponization.

Over the weekend, U.S. Speaker of the House John Boehner told CNN that he is even less confident about Iran’s willingness to abide by any deal it reaches pertaining to its nuclear program.

“We have got a regime that’s never quite kept their word about anything,” he said. “I just don’t understand why we would sign an agreement with a group of people who, in my opinion, have no intention of keeping their word.”

For its part, Iran is upping its own demands from the rest of the world.

Iran demands that all sanctions and UN resolutions imposing crippling restrictions against Tehran be scrapped as part of its nuclear deal with major world powers, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said.

“It is time for P5+1 to make tough decisions and to lift all sanctions,” Araqchi told journalists at the Lausanne talks.

“All six UN resolutions should be lifted,” he added.

Tickets for Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s speech n Congress today would be selling on the black market for hundreds if not thousands of dollars if Congressmen could sell their allotment of one ticket to friends and constituents.

“If I had 100 tickets, I’d be the most popular guy in town,” Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, told The New York Times.

The ear-piercing crescendo from the Obama administration and anti-Netanyahu bleachers in Israel has had a “Purim” effect by achieving results exactly opposite from their intentions.

Netanyahu stood his ground against demands from his political and media opponents in Israel to cancel the speech, which now has become talk of Washington, if not the entire United States.

“They have made it the most talked about thing in Washington, and I think it blew up in their face,” said Sen. Graham to the Times. “Everything he says, people want to hear, and people want to be in that room to listen, they want to be in person. It’s become a historic speech.”

The tickets are hotter than fresh latkes,” said Democratic Sen. Charles E. Schumer, who perhaps should have used the more timely analogy of “Hamantashen.”

“If Taylor Swift and Katy Perry did a joint concert at Madison Square Garden wearing white-and-gold and black-and-blue dresses, accompanied by dancing sharks and llamas, that’s the only way you’d have a tougher ticket,” Michael Steel, a spokesman for Boehner, told the newspaper.

That may be one of the reasons Obama is so angry over Netanyahu’s appearance.

The Jewish Press reported here yesterday that Americans have a highly favorable view of Netanyahu, even more than Obama.

The New York Times quoted New York Congressman Lee Zeldin as saying, “No one asked to be my guest” at the president’s State of the Union address.”

Approximately 30 Democrats are expressing their loyalty to Obama by planning to boycott the speech.

Their absence will not be noticed.

The following members of Congress have confirmed that they refuse to attend Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s speech on Tuesday. There are four Senators  and 31 House members. In addition to their names, however, we have provided their twitter handles, their Washington office address and their phone and fax numbers for their Washington offices. Just in case you want to tell them what you think.

In addition to the contact information, we endeavored to provide you with a little insight as to why these particular members of Congress have chosen to Bibicott.

U.S. SENATORS WHO ARE BIBICOTTING ON MARCH 3

UPDATE: Sen. Martin Heinrich (NM) is boycotting Netanyahu’s speech.

Sen. Tim Kaine (Va.) @SenKaineOffice 388 Russell Senate Office Building Washington, D.C. 20510Phone: (202) 224-4024 Fax: (202) 228-6363

On July 31, 2014, Sen. Kaine joined with other members of Congress in denouncing the decision of the United Nations Human Rights Council “to launch a one-sided investigation into Israel’s actions during the current conflict while ignoring actions by Hamas that threaten the lives of both Israeli and Palestinian civilians, including indiscriminate rocket attacks and the widespread use of human shields in Gaza.” The letter is a strong one and none of the other signers are on the no-show list for Netanyahu’s speech. He has made thoughtful and supportive comments about Israel in the past.

UPDATE: Sen. Kaine’s office sent The Jewish Press a statement from the Senator explaining his decision to boycott the speech. Kaine wrote on Feb. 25 that although a long-time supporter of the U.S.-Israel relationship, he believes Netanyahu’s address to Congress is inappropriate because of the proximity to the Israeli elections. Kaine had suggested to Speaker Boehner that the speech be postponed until after the Israeli elections so “there was no appearance of U.S. favoritism in a foreign election.”  Sen. Kaine was a J Street-endorsed candidate in 2012.

UPDATE: Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) is boycotting the speech.

Sen. Patrick Leahy (Vt.) @SenatorLeahy Sen Sntr D.C. Office 437 Russell Senate Bldg United States Senate Washington, DC 20510 (202) 224-4242 On Feb. 10 Sen. Leahy issued a brief statement on why he will not attend Netanyahu’s speech. Leahy placed the full blame on the Republican House leaders: “They have orchestrated a tawdry and high-handed stunt that has embarrassed not only Israel but the Congress itself. It has long been an unwritten rule and practice through the decades that when it comes to American foreign policy, we speak and act thoughtfully, with one voice when we can, with the national interests of the United States as our uppermost consideration, and with caution about the unintended consequences of unilateral actions like this. They have diminished that valuable precedent.” The Senator ignored Israel entirely in his statement.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) @SenSanders 332 Dirksen Building D.C. 20510 tel (202) 224-5141 fax (202) 228-0776 Sen. Sanders has a strongly anti-Netanyahu speech PBS clip on his website. Which was posted on Feb. 27.  Sanders appears briefly in the clip, saying that the speech “politicizes foreign policy in this country in a way that it shouldn’t.” When the interviewer asks Sanders, point blank, “what about Prime Minister Netanyahu, did he cross the line here?” Sanders says: “the answer is yes. I don’t think it is a good idea for the Prime Minister of Israel to come here, to the floor of Congress, and trash the president of the United States.” Sanders is Jewish.

Sen. Brian Schatz (Hawaii) @SenBrianSchatz 85% left 722 Hart Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 Ph: (202) 224-3934 F: (202) 228-1153 This relatively new senator has not issued a formal statement about why he is boycotting Netanyahu’s speech. Schatz reportedly told the AP that he was skipping the speech because it was arranged with “the apparent purpose of undermining President Obama’s foreign policy prerogatives.” Schatz was sworn in on a Hebrew Bible. He must not have read the Book of Joshua. Schatz filled the vacancy created when Sen. Daniel Inouye died. Schatz’s predecessor, a stalwart supporter of Israel, must be rolling in his grave. Schatz was a J Street-endorsed candidate in 2014.

MEMBERS OF THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES WHO ARE BIBICOTTING ON MARCH 3

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu boarded a plane for New York late Sunday Morning and will deliver a speech to Congress Tuesday, which he called “fateful and maybe even historic.”

“I feel I am an emissary for all citizens of Israel, including those who disagree with me,” he told reporters at Ben Gurion Airport.

He reiterated that he “will do everything” to maintain Israel’s security.

Snow will await the Prime Minister when he lands Sunday morning, New York time.

He will address the annual AIPAC conference on Monday, where U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice also will speak. Last week, she termed Netanyahu’s scheduled speech to Congress “destructive.”

House Speaker John Boehner invited the Prime Minister, an invitation that sparked outrage at the White House and from Netanyahu’s foes in the Knesset election campaign, especially the merged parties headed by Yitzchak Herzog and Tzipi Livni and the Israeli media establishment.

Yediot Acharonot, the country’s largest newspaper, and Kol Yisrael (Reshet Bet) have strongly slanted their coverage against Netanyahu for years and even more so after it was announced he will speak to Congress.

A cold rain is forecast in Washington on Tuesday, symbolic of the Obama administration’s view of Netanyahu.

His address will be broadcast in Israel with a five-minute delay so Election Committee officials can censor any comments that they think are a campaign speech.

He will return to Israel early Wednesday morning, just in time for Purim.