Little Pomp and Circumstance When Boehner Takes Over as Speaker

No celebrities, no flashy parties, no concerts. "Low key" will be the order of the day when John Boehner takes over as Speaker of the House this week.

Wednesday's ceremony with Boehner accepting the speaker's gavel will be a strictly congressional affair, The Washington Post reported. The Ohio Republican will attend a bipartisan prayer service, take the oath and then deliver his first speech as speaker. No fuss, no muss.

Boehner said thanks, but no thanks, to an invitation to a soiree at the tony W Hotel for a LeeAnn Rimes concert.

The Post said the austerity will stand in contrast to the "pomp and circumstance that surrounded Democrat Nancy Pelosi's elevation four years ago as the nation's first female speaker of the House." Pelosi's ascendancy was a multi-day media event featuring a Baltimore street named in her honor and crooner Tony Bennett serenading her at a reception.

Aides to Boehner told The Columbus Dispatch that the congressman hopes to set a tone that will resonate with the mood of the country.

"The tone of the week will be upbeat, but not celebratory," spokesman Cory Fritz told the newspaper. "He'll lay out the first step toward that end, disposing of some of the congressional 'rituals' that in the past have made it easier for Congress to duck tough choices."

On Thursday, according to the Dispatch, Boehner will arrange to have the U.S. Constitution read on the floor of the House, in a gesture of goodwill to the conservative tea party movement, which helped secure a number of GOP victories in November.