The biggest influence on his decision is expected to come from his wife, Janna, who worked as a lawyer and lobbyist in Washington before moving to her husband’s hometown to raise their children, who are in school there.
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The 45-year-old chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee has repeatedly rebuffed attempts to draw him into the House leadership apparatus, staying put during a leadership shuffle a year ago after former House Majority Leader Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Virginia) lost his primary to a conservative challenger.
The Wisconsin Republican is getting bombarded with calls and one-on-one appeals from GOP lawmakers, urging him to be the party’s white knight. While I am grateful for the encouragement I’ve received, I will not be a candidate. Late Friday morning, he indicated that he was “considering” a run, according to several news reports. “And we’ve got to address those”, said Rep. Roger Williams, R-Texas.
Kline is known to be a very close friend of current House Speaker John Boehner, who announced he planned to leave Congress at the end of October. McCarthy says, “I don’t want to go to the floor and win with 220 votes”.
“I believe he’s going home this weekend to soul search with his family about whether or not he can in fact accept this job, a job he doesn’t want, isn’t seeking but is seeking him”.
The tumult was escalating as Congress hurtled toward showdowns with Obama over spending and borrowing. If not resolved, those faceoffs could result in a partial government shutdown or an unprecedented federal default.
The prospects for electing a new speaker have dimmed. On Thursday, Republicans munching barbecue at a closed-door meeting where they seemed ready to coronate McCarthy as their candidate for speaker were aghast when the Californian rose and told them he wouldn’t seek the job. Leaving the Capitol Wednesday night, Ryan refused to rule out a Speaker’s run, saying, “This is not the time or place to discuss it”.
Boehner essentially had been driven out by a group of about 40 conservatives, known as the House Freedom Caucus, who are insisting on a greater say for rank-and-file members in the legislative process and in leadership.
Boehner and Ryan have a long relationship: Ryan volunteered for Boehner’s campaign when he was a student at Miami University in Ohio in the 1990s, before launching his own political career.
Rep. Darrell Issa, R-California, said that Ryan told him privately he is thinking about it as well.
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“He’s certainly in my mind the most qualified person to do it and I hope he’ll do it”, Chaffetz said on MSNBC. This morning, a rank-and-file Republican from outside of the delegation told the Tribune that there had been no outreach to this member’s office from Texans looking to be speaker.
