Boehner, who was first elected to Congress in 1991, writes in his book that former Rep. Tom DeLay (Texas), who was the No. 2 Republican in the House at the time, led a politically motivated campaign against Clinton over the then-president s affair with an intern, Monica Lewinsky.
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The House voted to impeach Clinton on two articles, that he had lied to a grand jury and that he had obstructed justice.
But Boehner said it was really just because of DeLay.
“In my view, Republicans impeached him for one reason and one reason only because it was strenuously recommended to us by one Tom DeLay,” Boehner writes, according to the Times. “Tom believed that impeaching Clinton would win us all these House seats, would be a big win politically, and he convinced enough of the membership and the G.O.P. base that this was true.”
The news from Kinzinger comes after The New York Times first reported last week that the Department of Justice was investigating Gaetz over an alleged sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl, and accusations that he paid for her travel.
Gaetz told The Hill on Friday that he has no plans to resign, saying rumors that suggested otherwise were false and that it was very safe to say he had no intentions of doing so.
Several of Gaetz s critics on the left, including former Rep. Katie Hill
Hill told MSNBC s Chris Hayes earlier on Thursday that she felt betrayed by Gaetz after the two had struck up a friendship during her time in Congress.
Cruz on Boehner: I wear with pride his drunken, bloviated scorn thehill.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thehill.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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But his endorsements could prove risky as he looks to cement his hold on a party that has splintered into competing factions ahead of the midterms.
“As they’re looking at candidates, they’re trying to reshape the Republican Party away from what a lot would call a corporatist approach and more towards this America First approach,” said former Trump administration official Alexei Woltornist.
Despite losing his reelection battle in November, Trump continues to be seen as a leading figure within the party.
A Reuters-Ipsos survey conducted late last month showed 81 percent of Republicans expressing a favorable opinion of Trump, while 49 percent said they strongly disagreed with the view that the former president should not run for public office again.
Katie Hill on Matt Gaetz: I feel betrayed by him thehill.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thehill.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.