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Denying any part in an organized coup against House Speaker John Boehner, the newest Alabama congressman, Gary Palmer, told Boehner last September he would not vote for him if elected.

U.S. Representative Gary Palmer, R-Hoover, announced late Thursday that he will co-sponsor a bill introduced by U.S. Rep. Robert Aderholt, R-Haleyville, to block what a news release from Palmer's office calls the Obama administration's "unconstitutional attempt to grant amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants by executive fiat."

Palmer -- newly sworn in as the representative for the Alabama 6th District -- is referring to executive orders on immigration issued by Obama in November.

Aderholt's bill, H.R. 191, would block the funds needed to implement Obama's order.

U.S. Rep. Gary Palmer, R-Hoover, who was sworn in this week as the representative for the Alabama 6th District in the U.S. House, had a busy first week on the job in Washington, D.C.

--Palmer, along with more than 20 other conservative Republican representatives, cast a politically risky vote against Speaker of the House John Boehner.

--He announced that he would co-sponsor pieces of legislation regarding immigration and abortion.

On the seventh floor of a Washington, D.C. steakhouse with a stunning view of the U.S. Capitol, Gary Palmer is grinning ear to ear. That initially wouldn't seem particularly notable, considering he was closing out an exciting first day as a member of the U.S. House, but it stands out because it was his smile — or lack thereof — that made his unlikely rise from think tank president to U.S. Congressman so unexpected.