Last week, Congressman John Boehner abruptly resigned his position as Speaker of the House.  Boehner became the fifth speaker to resign in a 226-year period, and appears to be the first to resign with internal caucus turmoil being cited as the primary reason.

While some expected a competitive race to emerge to replace him, pundits are predicting Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy is the favorite to move into the spot, as no serious opponent has yet surfaced. The election for Speaker of the House will be October 8, which leaves limited time for a challenger to McCarthy to emerge. 

How intertwined the leadership change is with the latest government shutdown talk is debatable, but for now, a shutdown has been avoided. Congress passed, and President Obama signed a bill, to continue funding through December 11, 2015.

Some thought the funding (or de-funding) of Planned Parenthood had the potential to bring things to a halt, but it appears the debate will be delayed and we’ll have to wait until December to see if that issue has staying power, or if the focus on Planned Parenthood dies down.