To a member, the consensus among House Republicans is that the only person who has 218 votes is Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan. Why?
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There’s no shortage of questions about what happens now – to the party, to the country – but the most immediate question is who will to try to be the next Speaker of the House.
Rep. Paul Ryan told GOP colleagues Friday (Oct. 9) he will consult with his family before deciding whether to accept their pleas that he run for speaker after successful efforts by conservative Republicans to force Speaker John Boehner’s resignation and derail the campaign by Boehner’s deputy to replace him. I would support Paul Ryan. “I think he’ll do it”. “The speaker moved that we adjourn and it passed by unanimous consent”, Rep. Lynn Jenkins, vice chairwoman of the conference, told CQ Roll Call.
A day later, there was exhaustion and unease. POLITICO and others report that emails were sent to dozens of Republican lawmakers by Steve Baer, a Republican donor in Chicago who is known for his frequent emails to GOP legislators. They worry that if he declines the opportunity, there is no clear alternative.
Ryan, who was Mitt Romney’s vice presidential running mate in 2012, first took office in 1999.
The GOP-run Congress is hurtling toward showdowns with President Barack Obama over spending and borrowing.
Asked if Ryan could placate the faction, Freedom Caucus member Mark Meadows said “there’s a path of support” for anyone willing to address the procedural issues that the caucus said must be reformed.
Also signing were Transportation Committee Chairman Bill Shuster and Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes.
Rep. Tom Cole’s (R-Okla.) name came up quite a bit yesterday as a more mainstream option, while Reps. All three men have high profiles as Republican leaders on Capitol Hill.
“We had two guys fall on their swords for the good of the conference”, Cole told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” program, referencing outgoing House Speaker John Boehner and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who took himself out of the running for Boehner’s seat on Thursday.
U.S. Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Dallas, had been considered a contender for a leadership post, but he ruled out a bid days after Boehner’s announcement.
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Rumors of the affair had circulated enough that at a closed-door meeting on Tuesday with Texas’s GOP delegation, members pressed McCarthy for reassurances that it was not true. If not resolved, those face-offs could result in a partial government shutdown or an unprecedented federal default – two scenarios that a few Republican leaders believe would severely wound Republican prospects in next year’s presidential and congressional elections. To be an effective force in moving public policy in a conservative direction, House Republicans need both unity and direction.
