yet again, another debt ceiling fight looming later in the fall. i think john boehner said i have done this, i have had enough, who needs it? i am taking a walk. you heard him say he was intent on announcing his resignation on his birthday and leaving at the end of the year, and confirming what many of us expected for sometime and that is if eric cantor had not lost his primary in that -- that big upset to yet another tea party conservative, dave brat outside of richmond, john boehner might not even be the speaker to begin with. so if what he says is to be taken at face value, this is something he had been considering a long time. and really, it is a very difficult task ahead of who receiver the next speaker of the house because of this casm in

the republican party. they are not going to sit on their hands this time when the leadership tries to push through. because they see donald trump, ben carson, leading in the poles. they interpret that as the base of the republican party wants them to move forward and fight against the establishment. the establishment embodied by the leaders in washington, john boehner and mitch mcconnell. >> yeah, and taking a step back, you mentioned what happened with cantor and how jarring that was when he lost that election in virginia. and the challenge then to the establishment was the tea party, and as you mentioned the challenge is now the outsiders. mike, you are at the white house because president obama is meeting with the president of china, and the president did comment on boehner's resignation. let's listen to what he said earlier. >> we have obviously had a lot of disagreements, and politically we're at different

ends of the spectrum, but he has always conducted himself with courtesy and civility with me. he has kept his word when he made a commitment. he is somebody who has been gracious and i think maybe most importantly, he's somebody who understands that in government -- in governance, you don't get 100% of what you want, but you have to work with people who you disagree with, sometimes strongly, in order to do the people's business. >> mike, the president was respectful even gracious and said some nice things about speaker boehner. speaker boehner has sued president obama multiple times. they don't see eye to eye, they are on opposite ends of the political spectrum. how might this effect policy going forward?

we talk about defunding planned parenthood, and on real issues, how does this effect things? >> reporter: well, when you talk about -- i think it's interesting first of all the president said that john boehner always kept his commitment. that was not the line coming out of the speakers of white house office. remember the days of grand bargaining, the golfing between the two, the efforts to cozy up and get their lbj on, the con joeling behind closed doors, and that broke down and a lot of acrimony quite frankly. john boehner put forward that lawsuit to take some air out of the conservative, the tea party, these revolutionaries, take some air out of their balloon of

trying to do something. we have lost count of how many times they have tried to repeal obamacare. but john boehner unable to do that, conservatives incensed that the republicans controlled both houses of congress and reneged on the promise to do that. give us both houses and we'll be able to do something, conservatives were told, hasn't worked out that way, so john boehner put forward that lawsuit and tried to mullfy conservatives that way. i thought libby had a great point. she said because boehner in the short-term because boehner has stepped down, he doesn't have to be beholden to those conservatives over the next six weeks, because he can rely on democrats, and that was the problem all along. when you rely on democrats, you are -- in the ways of washington, when you look

through the prism of washington, especially the way the house has worked for generations, really, you don't rely on the minority, that's viewed as a betrayal. now he is free to do that. because what are they going to do? >> almost like a lame duck speaker, and that gives him certain freedoms. >> reporter: exactly. >> i want to bring in another political veteran reporter, that is our david shuster. david there is a lot we could talk about here, where should we begin in is it a question of who is next? is it a question of the state of the republican party? >> i think you begin with the point that mike was eluding to, and that is the dysfunction in washington is only going to harden now, because instead of a established politician, he was

faces a caucus that want him to cooperate at all. and if you go back to the beginning of his speakership there was a farm bill that mike and i covered back in 2013 that john boehner couldn't get the republic republicans to pass. >> if you cannot get con census in on the farm bill in the g.o.p. party nonetheless -- >> right. and now this whole issue with planned parenthood, it was clear he did not have control over members. his members knew that, so they extracted more and more concessions, and said okay, if you want this, now we want this and that and that, and now we want planned parenthood defunded. and boehner looked up and said that was a non-starter.

i was thrilled that he gave a shoutout to pete's diner. great day for them to get that shoutout. >> the reason he pointed out pete's diner is he makes it sound so mundane that he woke up and said honey, do you think i should resign the speakership today then went to pete's diner and made his decision. >> and the people at pete's diner would tell you that is just the kind of by he is. you would never know he was the speaker, until you saw the secret service detail. >> let's listen to boehner about the timing of this decision. >> i decided in november of 2010 that -- when i was elected speaker that serving two terms would have been plenty, and -- but in june of last year, it became clear that the majority leader lost his election, i frankly didn't

believe it was right for me to leave at the end of last year. so my goal was to leave at the end of this year, so i planned actually on my birthday, november 17th, so announce i was leaving at the end of the year, but it has become clear to me that this prolonged leadership turmoil would do irreparable harm to the institution. >> again, i -- i think he sort of alluded to something that might bewilder some people watching that aren't beltway, the insiders. what did he mean the institution? >> he has said over the last several years that the legislative branch had lost a lot of ground and that the president and the administration essentially diminished the power of the legislative branch. and that's part of why he would stand up and be firm against the

president. and under our government you're supposed to have three branches of government, he is leader of the legislative branch and when he sees the executive branch encroaching on what boehner saw as the rightful powers of the house and the government to legislate, that's where he drew the line. >> let's talk about who might take his place. one who was mentioned was majority leader kevin mccarthy, and boehner said he would be an excellent speaker. mccarthy was approached by reporters today and didn't say anything. >> he is somebody that might be able to bridge the gap between the two sides, but actually the concern who knows the most about kevin mccarthy is michael shure. >> yeah, michael, what do you

think about potential replacements for speaker? >> well, i think there are two of them. many think that paul ryan would be the anecdote to all of the problems. ryan said no, he's not interested, but many minds have changed when you have the entirety of your caucus urging you to run. kevin mccarthy is a newbie to the congress, but he is somebody who can bridge between the what is now the moderate membership of that caucus, and the more conservative. you heard john boehner singing zipdy do da, it's the song of the south. and the republicans from the south, many of them, think they are underrepresented in the leadership. steve scalise is the majority whip, and he would likely run for majority leader, but there

are other names, there's tom price of georgia, he is somebody who badly wants to have that job. daniel webster got i think 12 votes when they elected speaker boehner this year. he's from florida, he's a tea party conservative. a lot of republicans look to him. this will not happen be ak la makes. >> normally you would think somebody would want this job, michael shure, but having seen what speaker boehner has been through in recent times, you wonder whether -- i assume that somebody like kevin mccarthy or any of the other guys that you named would want to be third in line to the presidency of this country, but this is a tough job, because you are still dealing with those same dynamics within the republican party. >> ed koch would always say i can't understand why anybody

wants this job, but i really want it. the speaker of the house comes with a lot of perks and power, and people who go to washington like both of those things. it is a difficult job, and john boehner to his credit as a politician has had to handle it at a, difficult time and has had to balance this. it is the worst job to have right now, but the people that will want this job, are the people who think they can bring the party togethere togetherest -- especially ahead of an election. the campaign is sucking up all of the air in political circles now, so they have to behave as a party united going into a national election, otherwise it could hurt them. >> michael shure thank you all. we're continuing to follow this developing news.

speaker john boehner announcing that he is planning to resign from the u.s. congress at the end of next month. we're going to take a quick break here and see you on the other end.

>> what do you want american's to understand? >> there's so much injustice. >> workers are being injured constantly. welcome back to al jazeera america, i'm david shuster,

we're continuing our coverage of the announcement of the resignation of john boehner. he announced he will be leaving at the end of october. he said he did not want to put the institution of the house through some of the challenges it would be facing in terms of a leadership struggle, noting he had been planning at the end of the year anyway. and there have been conversation that some members were going to challenge john boehner next week. joining us is a professor only campaign management. what is your reaction. >> i was stunned by the announcement like so many, coming just hours after the pope's visit when he spoke to congress and asked for an end to the division there, and we have

seen anything but, he spoke out against polarization, and anybody looking at the pope's speech on john boehner's face knew it was a very moving speech for john boehner. but i think we'll see ongoing polarization going forward. as the party tries to figure out who it is going to be going forward. >> the public already thinks of congress as stuck in gridlock and not able to address the nation's problems. it would seem that with an establishment figure like john boehner leaving, that intractable difference between the democrats and republicans would only get even deeper. >> i think you are right. i go back to the night of the 2014 midterm election when

republicans were making the case that if they were able to take over congress as a whole, there would be a difference in terms of the tone and tenor, we would see a great progress going forward, and we have seen anything but that happen, and so i think, unfortunately with boehner's departure, it's going to be even more on people's agenda -- it's going to be even more clear going forward, that this is a very fractured republican party. they hold a huge majority in the house, and they are not going to be able to get things done. yes, he was planning to leave in 2014, didn't because of eric cantor's loss, and he was planning on leaving in november. it is clear he is leaving because this is an uncontrollable caucus. and whoever takes this over, they are going to be in the same position that john boehner was, and it's unlikely they are going to be able to, quote unquote, get things done. and what that says for obama's

last year, and for the united states going forward from a policy perspective is not very heartening, and deeply disteshing to me after listening to the pope talk about coming together and work toward the cause of the common good. i think you'll see anything but that. >> let's go to mike viqueira, there are still some huge things to get done, never mind the funding of planned parenthood. take us through the next couple of weeks. >> reporter: well, it's sort of an ironic perverse washington way, for the short-term thing that you are talking about to actually get done, because john boehner is now free to depend upon democrats to fund the government while continuing the

fu funding planned parenthood. last night i happened to be in the capitol after the pope had spoken, walking by the speaker's suite and there were two dozen reporters camped in the hallways. it turns out that these conservatives -- they call themselves the freedom caucus had been called by speaker boehner for a meet ing. you have got to believe whatever happened in there, colored the judgment of john boehner in making this decision today. i agree with jean, whoever has the job after john boehner has got their work cut out for them to say the least. this stepping down of john boehner who was viewed rightly or wrongly as an establishment figure, and a -- and a symbol of the status quo in washington much to the anger of the

conservative movement in this country, i think they are going to see this as a victory. they were able to push out john boehner, seen as a moderate, he is anything but, but in the context of capitol hill right now, he is seen as someone more in the middle of the road, willing to compromise. >> mike thank you very much and again to recap, house speaker john boehner announced he would be leaving at the end of october. there will be a special election in his district in march. it is a republican district that went with mitt romney by 26 points, so whichever republican runs for boehner's seat would likely pick it up. but we are also keeping track of pope francis who has got a full day in new york. roxana saberi joining us live from harlem. and the hope is going to be going to where you are later

this afternoon to meet with this school that is 75% hispanic. most of the kids live under the poverty line. tell us about the event and why so many catholics are suggesting this may be the most important event on the pope's schedule. >> reporter: the school is significant because most of the students are minority and many of them require financial aid to go to this school. he is also going to be meeting with a number of immigrants as are a number of people out in this audience. they say the pope's message and focus on immigration and poverty is very important to them. he will be driving up this street, taking a turn, and going up to the next block where he will visit the students in that school. and meet the immigrants there. that school used to have a sponsoring parish, but it was shut down eight years ago.

every sunday morning this 91 year old joins this group of fellow catholics to pray and sing. ♪ >> we are here every sunday. >> reporter: every sunday since 2007 that's when the archdiocese of new york shut down their church across the street. patty rodriguez says holding these weekly services is a way to keep the community together. there are churches closer by, why not attend one of those? why are you so passionate about this church reopening? >> i think first of all you don't get the same warmth, the same feeling that we got in this church. i think also that being told to go -- because of that. because they dismissed us. >> reporter: this processor says

the closure is part of a trend growing across the u.s. >> basically it deals with a combination of empty pews, empty coffers, and a shortage of priests and staffs. >> reporter: when parrishes close, their schools often do too. but just around the corner, a school with the same name is still running with nearly 300 inner city students. two years ago the archdiocese turned this school over to a non-profit to run. >> i think we have it right. and i think this is something that will make sure our lady queen of angels is going to be here for a long time to come. >> reporter: and now these students will get a visit from the pope. >> i'm like i'm going to meet the pope! i'm going to meet the pope! this is amazing. >> pope francis is not scheduled

to stop at the church, but these members will be hoping to grab his attention with signs like this. >> for eight years we have been trying. if they see us here. they will have pity on us and open those doors. >> reporter: and once parrishes close they rarely reopen david. the archdiocese told us in the past year alone it has had to shut down 72 parishes. >> roxana saberi reporting live from where any pope will visit, and president can catholic charities. we'll of course bring that coverage to you live. this morning pope francis spoke at the united nations to a gather that officials said was the largest collection of world laiders in the united nations history. more than 150 heads of state or government applaused the pope. he endorsed u.n. efforts to reach a global agreement on

climate change, but criticized what he called a selfish, thrust for prosperity. john how would you summarize the pope's speech? >> reporter: that last quote you gave sets up the whole tone for the speech, which reads a lot better than it sounds. the pope spoke in spanish, but when you read the speech it's very excellent. here he is finger wagging on two issues, he said harm done to the environment is harm done to humanity. he is calling for everyone to have a home of their own, food on the table, water to drink, and education, especially for girls who are often forgotten. so when you boil it all down, the more than 30-minute speech that's the thrust of it. >> yesterday a lot of people thought when he was addressing

congress, he talked about talks. and a lot of people thought he was talking about cuba, but others thought it was the iran nuclear deal. >> it was about the iran nuclear deal, he is calling for the destruction of all nuclear weapons. here is how he put it. >> translator: the recent agreement reached on the nuclear question in the sensitive region of asia and the middle east is proof of the potential of political goodwill and of law, exercised with sincerity, patience, and constancy. i express my hope that this agreement will be lasting and efficacious -- >> reporter: and apart from addressing the general assembly he met ban ki-moon.

and held a townhall. he spoke in english on that occasion as well. he prayered for them just as he did after addressing the congress yesterday. and road around the complex in the u.n.'s own version of a pope mobile, which is a golf cart. >> john thank you very much. al jazeera america will have complete coverage of the pope's visit to new york throughout the day, in about two hours the pope will be going to harlem, to go to a catholic school, we'll take questions from kids, he'll meet with honor students and from there he is scheduled to go to central park where some 80,000 people will be waiting to look at the pope, and later this afternoon the pope heads to mass at madison square garden. you are looking at madison square garden there. thanks for joining us. i'm david shuster. the news continues next live from london. ♪

this is al jazeera. and this is the al jazeera news hour. good to have you along. i'm david foster. here's a taste of some of what we're studying in detail in the next 60 minutes. facing criminal proceedings. sepp blatter is being questioned by officials. we address this agreement cannady lid and constructively. >> deals and plans put in place as the u.s. and chinese presidents have talks in washington, d.c.