“Getting critical aid to the victims of Hurricane Sandy should be the first priority in the new Congress,” Mr. Boehner said in a statement that he released with Representative Eric Cantor of Virginia, the Republican majority leader in the House. “That was reaffirmed today with members of the New York and New Jersey delegations.”

But it was unclear whether Mr. Boehner could undo the damage he had done.

Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey, a potential Republican presidential contender in 2016, said Mr. Boehner had refused to take his calls on Tuesday night. He accused the House leadership of duplicity and selfishness, saying the inaction “is why the American people hate Congress.”

After finally getting through to Mr. Boehner on Wednesday morning, Mr. Christie expressed doubt in the speaker’s word in his characteristically blunt way.

“I’m not going to get into the specifics of what I discussed with John Boehner today,” he told reporters in New Jersey. “But what I will tell you is there is no reason at the moment for me to believe anything they tell me. Because they have been telling me stuff for weeks, and they didn’t deliver.”