Updated: 6:08 p.m.

Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) suggested in a letter Monday that he would redirect funds from the Justice Department to argue for the Defense of Marriage Act in court, drawing a sharp response from House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).

Separately, Boehner’s office also confirmed Monday that Paul Clement, the solicitor general under President George W. Bush, will defend DOMA in court for the House.

In the letter to Pelosi, who wrote to Boehner last month to ask for the financial logistics of defending the law in court, Boehner wrote, “The burden of defending DOMA, and the resulting costs associated with any litigation that would have otherwise been born by DOJ, has fallen to the House.

“Obviously, DOJ’s decision results in DOJ no longer needing the funds it would have otherwise expended defending the constitutionality of DOMA,” Boehner added. “It is my intent that those funds be diverted to the House for reimbursement of any costs incurred by and associated with the House, and not DOJ, defending DOMA.”