Story highlights
- Ted Cruz, a frequent critic of John Boehner, said the deal passed this week was a "complete and utter surrender" to congressional Democrats
- Boehner said he regrets not being able to get immigration reform done
Washington (CNN)John Boehner pushed back Sunday against Ted Cruz's criticism that the two-year budget deal passed by Congress this week was a "slap in the face to conservatives."
"That's just total nonsense," Boehner told CNN's Dana Bash on "State of the Union." "This is real entitlement reform in this agreement. We've got a big group of members who need more money for our national defense, and all the increases in spending are offset with spending reductions elsewhere in the government."
Cruz, a frequent critic of Boehner, said the deal passed this week -- which increases federal spending by more than $80 billion over the next two years and raises the nation's debt limit through March 2017 -- was a "complete and utter surrender" to congressional Democrats.
John Boehner has been the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives since 2011, making him second in line for the presidency, behind the vice president. On September 25, Boehner told colleagues he's stepping down as speaker and will leave Congress at the end of October. Look back at his career in politics so far.
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Pope Francis walks with Speaker Boehner and Vice President Joe Biden after delivering a speech to Congress in Washington on September 24.
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Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani (right) expresses his country's gratitude for America's fiscal commitment and military sacrifices during an address to a joint meeting of the United States Congress with Vice President Joe Biden (left) and Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol March 25 in Washington.
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U.S. President Barack Obama walks with Speaker of the House John Boehner as they depart the annual Friend's of Ireland luncheon on Capitol Hill in Washington on March 17.
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U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and Speaker of the House John Boehner await the arrival of President Barack Obama for the State of The Union address on January 20 in the House Chamber of the Capitol.
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The image of the Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) is displayed in a monitor of a camera as he talks with reporters in his office in the Capitol in November 2014 in Washington.
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Boehner blasts conservative groups during a press conference in December 2013 after passing a compromise budget deal aimed at removing the threat of another government shutdown. Fed up with criticism from conservative advocates, Boehner said they were "misleading their followers." He followed up with: "Frankly, I just think that they've lost all credibility."
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Reporters question Boehner as he arrives at the U.S. Capitol as the government stalemate continued in October 2013. President Obama signed a bill on October 17 that ended the 16-day shutdown and raised the debt ceiling.
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Boehner speaks to the media after a meeting with President Obama at the White House in October 2013, the second day of the federal government's recent shutdown. The White House squared off with Republican rivals in Congress over how to fund federal agencies, many of which were forced to close, leaving a fragile economy at risk.
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Boehner is sworn in as the speaker of the House after his re-election in January 2013.
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Boehner presents golfing legend Arnold Palmer with the Congressional Gold Medal at a special ceremony in the Rotunda of the Capitol in September 2012.
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On January 5, 2011, Boehner wipes away tears as he waits to receive the gavel from outgoing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, during the first session of the 112th Congress.
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Boehner hugs his wife, Debbie, after addressing the crowd at the NRCC Election Night watch party on November 2, 2010, when Republicans took back control of the House of Representatives. Boehner met his wife in college, and they have been married since 1973.
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Boehner voices his concerns about the health care reform bill championed by Obama during a news conference in Washington on October 29, 2009.
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Boehner, an avid golfer, talks with Tiger Woods while golfing at the Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland, in 2009.
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Boehner, center, looks on as President Barack Obama speaks with then-House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer in the East Room of the White House on February 23, 2009. Boehner and Obama have butted heads over the years.
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Boehner, center, and fellow Republican House members sing Boehner's birthday song during a news conference on Capitol Hill on November 17, 2006. Boehner served as the House Minority Leader from 2007 to 2011.
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Boehner answers questions during an interview with Bloomberg in Washington on June 29, 2005.
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President George W. Bush signs into law the federal education bill No Child Left Behind at a high school in Hamilton, Ohio, in 2002. The law offered the promise of improved schools for the nation's poor and minority children and better-prepared students in a competitive world. Boehner, second from right, backed the bill.
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Boehner and House Majority Leader Dick Armey, R-Texas, listen to House Speaker Newt Gingrich at a 1997 news conference with entrepreneurs promoting the GOP tax relief plan.
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Boehner dumps out coal, which he called a Christmas gift to President Clinton, during a news conference about the federal budget on December 21, 1995. Many government services and agencies were closed at the end of 1995 and beginning of 1996 as a Republican-led Congress battled Clinton over spending levels.
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Boehner at a Capitol Hill news conference on February 6, 1995. He has had a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1990. Before that he was a member of the Ohio State House of Representatives for six years.
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Boehner, R-Ohio, holds a copy of the Constitution on Capitol Hill in Washington on May 7, 1992, as Sen. Don Nickles, D-Oklahoma, looks on. Both men proclaimed it was a historic day when the Michigan House ratified the 27th Amendment to the Constitution, which would require that any Congressional pay raises not go into effect until after the next election.
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"John Boehner's golden parachute will certainly cement his legacy but it is a slap in the face to conservatives," Cruz said Tuesday.
Boehner, along with other lawmakers, crafted the budget deal with President Barack Obama. Bash asked if the talks were difficult given problems the two leaders have had in the past.
But, the former speaker maintained, "we have a good relationship. At the end of the day, it's about doing the best we can considering those things on behalf of the American people. And so we had a lot of conversations, some of them were better than others."
Despite that "good relationship," Boehner said he regrets that the two were not able to reform immigration.
"Reforming our immigration system, securing our borders would be good for America. But unfortunately, the President kept poisoning the well, and poisoning the well to the point where it was impossible to put it on the floor of the house," he said.
"Why was it the President and not the right flank of your own caucus?" Bash asked.
"There's probably some blame there as well," Boehner said, "but we could've dealt with that."
