Boehner: Christie’s Still a 2016 Contender

House Speaker John Boehner says he believes Chris Christie remains a serious contender for the Republican 2016 presidential nomination, despite the traffic jam scandal engulfing the governor as national politicians react to today's statement.

Reporters asked Boehner about Christie's problems on Thursday, even as the governor was holding a news conference in Trenton.

The Ohio Republican quipped that he hadn't been fortunate enough to have seen Christie's news conference. He said little about the governor's situation.

Asked whether Christie remains a top 2016 GOP contender for the presidential nomination, Boehner said, "I think so. I think so."

Documents show Christie's staff helped arrange massive traffic jams last September in Fort Lee, N.J., to retaliate against the town's Democratic mayor, who had not endorsed Christie's re-election.

Other reaction:

Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06)

The actions by Governor Christie’s administration that resulted in the lane closures on the nation’s busiest bridge are disgraceful and represent the worst type of political retaliation and abuse of public trust. Governor Christie must come clean, take full responsibility and explain in detail exactly what occurred.

Today’s press conference served to raise more questions than it answered. All of the facts surrounding this incident must be put on the table immediately and any and all appropriate actions should be taken to hold everyone involved accountable.

DNC Communications Director Mo Elleithee

For nearly two hours today, Chris Christie stood up and repeatedly made himself out to be the victim. He lauded himself for swift action in firing staffers for lying to him. And he argued that this was not reflective of the culture he’s created in his office.

But Chris Christie is not the victim. The people of New Jersey who trusted him are.

He didn’t take ‘swift action’. He ignored questions and responsibility for more than 120 days, until his administration was finally caught red-handed.

The fireable offense should not be that his team lied to him — it’s that they took actions that hurt the people of New Jersey.

And it’s clear that Chris Christie absolutely created and fostered a culture in his office where this type of conduct was considered appropriate.
Today’s spectacle by the Governor has left many questions still unanswered.

But there’s one thing that was crystal clear today — Chris Christie needs to focus less on his ego, and more on the people of NJ.

(Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved)