Hey, Isn't That...? Speaker Boehner Returns to Guapo's

Diners in Shirlington Village last Thursday night may have caught a glimpse of the Speaker of the House John Boehner or should we say Señor Boehner?

Nothing like some chips and salsa and a margarita at Guapo’s to get your mind off of President Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran. “It blows my mind that the administration would agree to lift the arms and missile bans,” Boehner said earlier in the day, in a news conference.

We don’t know what caught the Speaker’s eye on the menu Thursday night, but the 65-year-old Ohio Republican, whose office puts him third in the presidential line of succession, pulled up Thursday night in a black SUV near the entrance to Guapo’s, the popular Mexican food spot. The Speaker and his entourage headed inside, and he soon popped out for a quick smoke and graciously posed for photos with fellow diners before heading back inside.

The Speaker, who has called his smoking a “bad habit,” grew up in a working class family alongside 11 brothers and sisters and has often talked about learning how to get along with people while working mopping the floors at his grandfather Andrew Boehner’s bar, Andy’s Cafe, a Cincinnati-area tavern.

In case you’re wondering about that deep tan: The Speaker attributes his tan to time spent outdoors playing golf, cutting grass and riding his bicycle, he said last year on The Tonight Show.

Guapo’s has been a respite from Capitol Hill in the past for Boehner:

• December 2012, The Daily Mail: In the midst of a grueling, final-hour push by Congress to rescue the economy from the looming fiscal cliff, House Speaker John Boehner sought brief reprieve with an evening of margaritas and Mexican fare in Arlington, a source told Mail Online.
• March 28, 2012, The Washington Post: John Boehner with about a half-dozen friends at Guapo’s in Shirlington Tuesday night. Drinking something that looked like a margarita.
• April 1, 2011, ARLnow: Speaker Boehner Visits Guapos in Shirlington
• Dec. 15, 2010, Politico: Spotted on Tuesday night at Guapo’s Mexican restaurant in Shirlington, Va.: Incoming Speaker of the House John Boehner. This marks the second time in a little over a month he was seen there.

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