Following a torrent of criticism from within his own party, U.S. House Speaker John Boehner has set a timeline for voting on $60 billion in relief for Superstorm Sandy. Boehner has pledged to bring $9 billion in aid to the floor on Friday, followed by a $51 billion package on January 15. Boehner had canceled an expected vote this week on Sandy relief, prompting outrage from Republicans in Northeastern states pounded by the storm. In particular, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie hammered Boehner, saying he had called the House speaker four times Tuesday night after being informed the bill had been pulled. During a 40-minute news conference Wednesday, Christie called Boehner’s decision “disappointing and disgusting to watch” and condemned the GOP’s “toxic internal politics.”

Gov. Chris Christie: “In our hour of desperate need, we’ve been left waiting for help six times longer than the victims of Katrina, with no end in sight. Americans are tired of the palace intrigue and political partisanship of this Congress, which places one-upsmanship ahead of the lives of the citizens who sent these people to Washington, D.C., in the first place. New Jerseyans and New Yorkers are tired of being treated like second-class citizens. Sixty-six days and counting. Shame on you. Shame on Congress.”