After Ryan met with House members to win their support, Republican Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL) wrote him a note.
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The vote to name Ryan as Speaker was largely a formality after Republicans nominated him over Webster in a closed-door meeting on Wednesday.
The rest of Arizona’s delegation followed their parties, with the remaining three Democrats voting for Pelosi and four Republicans backing Ryan.
But before leaving, he secretly negotiated a sweeping, two-year budget deal with the White House that, if it passes Congress, would clear the decks of any major fiscal crises for the new speaker.
The 45-year-old health nut stands in sharp contrast to his predecessor, 65-year-old chain-smoking John Boehner of Ohio. But, he said, “We have nothing to fear from honest differences honestly stated”. “I leave with no regrets, no burdens”, he said, clutching a box of Kleenex.
“Speaker Ryan has an opportunity to unite Republicans by embracing a bold, conservative policy agenda”.
“I wish him well in this new role, look forward to working with him and encourage my constituents to keep Speaker Ryan, his family and America in your prayers as I told the new Speaker I would do”.
A few key members of the conservative Freedom Caucus voted yes to Ryan, members that were largely responsible for leading the charge to overthrow Speaker John Boehner. I am not interested in laying blame. “We are wiping the slates clean”. Ryan, accepting the gavel from House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, seemed ready to tackle his new role.
Ryan needed 218 votes to clinch a victory on the floor of the 435-member House which is dominated by the GOP.
While Ryan was giving his acceptance speech, Rep. Louise Slaughter (NY), the top Democrat on the House Rules Committee, issued a statement saying his first official act as speaker should be to disband the GOP select committees on Benghazi and Planned Parenthood.
“Paul is being called”, Boehner said.
Ryan will now have the chance to be the face of Republicans in Congress, along with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell; only 24 percent of Americans approve of Republicans in Congress, according to a recent ABC News/Washington Post poll.
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Ryan won his seat in the House in 1998, and ran as presidential hopeful, Mitt Romney’s, running mate against President Barack Obama in 2012. We are going to unify.
