Boehner Doesn't Know DOMA Defense Cost 

House speaker John Boehner said he did not have an estimate as to how much defending the federal marriage ban would cost.

Last month Boehner and House Republican leaders decided to continue arguing in favor of the Defense of Marriage Act in court, after President Barack Obama directed the Justice Department to stop defending the 1996 law because he found it discriminatory.

At a press conference Thursday, Boehner said he did not have an estimate for the legal fees associated with defending the law.

"But we were placed in a position where we were in effect allowing the administration to determine the constitutionality of a bill that passed the United States Congress because they were unwilling to defend it," he said, according to the Washington Blade. "I don't think the House had any choice but to take the position that we were going to defend the work that the Congress -- and only the courts are in the position of determining the constitutionality of any bill."

On March 11, two days after the House leadership decided to defend DOMA in court, minority leader Nancy Pelosi asked Boehner to provide an estimate of how much the legal move would cost.