Speaker John Boehner John Andrew BoehnerEx-GOP lawmaker joins marijuana trade group Crowley, Shuster moving to K Street On unilateral executive action, Mitch McConnell was right — in 2014 MORE (R-Ohio) on Friday took a jab at the small group of fiscal conservatives who have fiercely opposed his bipartisan, $200 billion deal to reform Medicare.

“Conservatives should be happy we got this done, and confident Republicans will continue fighting to curb Washington’s worst habits for the sake of our children’s future,” Boehner John Andrew BoehnerEx-GOP lawmaker joins marijuana trade group Crowley, Shuster moving to K Street On unilateral executive action, Mitch McConnell was right — in 2014 MORE wrote in an op-ed Friday for the IJ Review.

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The Medicare "doc fix" bill, which was personally negotiated by Boehner, was passed overwhelmingly passed in the Senate Tuesday night. President Obama signed the bill Thursday, staving off steep cuts to payments for doctors who accept Medicare.

Still, the bill drew sharp criticism from influential Republicans in Congress, including Sens. Ted Cruz Rafael (Ted) Edward CruzTrump unleashing digital juggernaut ahead of 2020 Inviting Kim Jong Un to Washington Trump endorses Cornyn for reelection as O'Rourke mulls challenge MORE (Texas) and Marco Rubio Marco Antonio RubioHillicon Valley: Senators urge Trump to bar Huawei products from electric grid | Ex-security officials condemn Trump emergency declaration | New malicious cyber tool found | Facebook faces questions on treatment of moderators Key senators say administration should ban Huawei tech in US electric grid Trump unleashing digital juggernaut ahead of 2020 MORE (Florida), who are both competing for the GOP presidential nomination.

They were joined by GOP Sens. Mike Lee Michael (Mike) Shumway LeePush to end U.S. support for Saudi war hits Senate setback The Hill's Morning Report — Emergency declaration to test GOP loyalty to Trump The Hill's 12:30 Report: Trump escalates fight with NY Times MORE (Utah), David Perdue (Ga.), Ben Sasse (Neb.), Tim Scott Timothy (Tim) Eugene ScottSenate reignites blue slip war over Trump court picks Senate approves border bill that prevents shutdown Senate passes bill to make lynching a federal crime MORE (S.C.), Jeff Sessions Jefferson (Jeff) Beauregard SessionsTrump says he hasn't spoken to Barr about Mueller report Ex-Trump aide: Can’t imagine Mueller not giving House a ‘roadmap’ to impeachment Rosenstein: My time at DOJ is 'coming to an end' MORE (Ala.) and Richard Shelby (Ala.) in voting against the bill.

Conservative groups including the Heritage Action Foundation and Club for Growth also fiercely opposed the legislation, which they claimed violates the GOP’s promise to reduce the deficit.

To appease fiscal conservatives, Senate leaders allowed Lee to propose an amendment that would force Congress to cover the full costs of the bill. That amendment failed 42-58, garnering the fewest votes out of all six amendments considered that night.

Boehner spent two months quietly working with Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to solve a Medicare payment problem that has plagued congressional leaders for more than 20 years.

The stakes were high for Boehner, who tried and failed to secure a deal on the Medicare formula last year.

Boehner has repeatedly stressed that the bill saves money in the long term, arguing in his op-ed that the bill is an “important step” to ultimately reform Medicare.

“We all know that much more must be done to save our entitlement programs, but we have to start somewhere,” he wrote.