John Boehner Turns Over House Speaker Badge And Gun

On Wednesday, Rep. Paul Ryan was officially chosen by his Republican congressional peers to take over as Speaker of the House, replacing the embattled veteran John Boehner.

Late Tuesday afternoon, Boehner had entered Paul Ryan's Capitol Hill office, where many of his fellow congressmen were already gathered. An awkward hush fell, and the now-former House Speaker looked only at the floor as he approached Ryan's desk.

He paused, just briefly, before unholstering his standard issue House Speaker side arm, unpinning his well-shined badge, and placing them both before Congressman Ryan.

As he creaked back into the hallway, Ryan began a slow clap. And it slowly spread through the office out into the corridor, eventually building into a thunderous applause.

Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky sighed heavily, then whispered into the ether, "There goes the best damn speaker I ever saw."

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