Boehner will keep flying commercial

Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) will continue to fly commercially despite the security concerns that came about after Saturday's shooting in Tucson, Ariz.

Boehner's spokesman Michael Steel told The Hill that the Speaker had no intention to reconsider a decision he previously made to forgo the use of a private jet for transportation to and from his Ohio district.

Shortly after Republicans won control of the House of Representatives in November, Boehner told reporters that he intended to continue to fly on commercial flights.

At the time he said: “Over the last 20 years, I have flown back and forth to my district on commercial aircraft, and I’m going to continue to do that."

Following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the Speaker of the House, second in the line of succession behind the vice president, was assigned a designated Air Force jet to shuttle them back and forth to their home districts on weekends.

Former Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) used the jet, as did former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).

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