But it’s highly unusual that a potential speaker candidate, in this case, Paul Ryan, would make his expectations so public – and make fulfilling them a condition of his running at all. The Republicans could then decide to deal either with the Democrats or the Freedom Republicans depending on which would give them the best terms. Speaker John Boehner announced his surprise resignation last month under pressure from conservatives, and Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy abruptly dropped his bid to replace him.
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The Freedom Caucus has grown increasingly isolated amid the chaos, with complaints growing louder from other Republicans about their veto power over the daily workings of the House, and its next speaker. It also exposed fissures in the typically close-knit caucus.
“We can support him and we want him to be successful, but we want to make sure also that he understands that this is not about crowning a king”, said Rep. Raul Labrador of Idaho. But now Ryan is saying he will only take the job if the House Freedom Caucus endorses his effort to further centralize power-a betrayal of everything they stand for. He said he would not advance contentious bills without support from a majority of the majority of the House Republican Conference – adhering to the much-talked-about Hastert rule.
Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., (center) smiles Wednesday as he walks from the Capitol across Independence Avenue to the Longworth Ho… What hes doing is selfless. “And that’s what driving this problem with the House Speaker selection right now”.
“We’re at risk of overplaying our hand, he’s at risk of overplaying his”, said Rep. Mick Mulvaney, R-S.C., a caucus member. Such process is not afforded to illegal immigrants though.
Members of the group of almost 40 lawmakers said a “supermajority” would back Ryan, although he fell short of the 80 percent needed for an official endorsement.
Republicans are scheduled to vote on nominating a new speaker on Oct. 28, followed by a vote by the full House on Oct. 29.
Ryan told reporters that instead of being on the fundraising hustings, he would spend time communicating the GOP vision.
The group Family Values @ Work said that most Americans don’t have the resources Ryan does to demand more family time.
By the time the meeting wrapped up Wednesday night, only a small handful of members had reservations, said Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.), signaling that Ryan had secured the 218 House votes necessary to prevail in the floor vote.
I think he satisfied many of us that he was going to change business as usual in Washington, D.C., Mulvaney said. A few caucus members were expected to vote for Daniel Webster, another lawmaker seeing the post.
So, as the speaker of the House shuffle gets sorted out, after watching this video you can say, “Now I get it”. You see how a movement of unhinged true believers dedicated to opposition for opposition’s sake can go into a political death spiral. His path to the Speakership is clear: Paul Ryan did not seek this position. Theyre sick of how this place is run, of the dog-and-pony shows on committees. “If they can’t find a way to support him, then they’re really lost”. “Why can’t he just say, ‘No, we have to get all of these points.’ You know you could have used the debt ceiling to get tremendous points”. I’m going to stop losing $70 billion a year with Japan.
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The huge Republican Study Committee represents mainstream House conservatives and claims over 170 members.
