Republican Paul Ryan cleared his toughest hurdle to becoming the next House speaker as the majority of the hard-line conservative Freedom Caucus supported him on Wednesday night. Paul Ryan probably has enough notes now to be elected to the House floor next week as about two-thirds of the roughly 40 staunch conservatives backed him for speaker.
Paul Ryan said that he would run only if three major lawmaking groups backed him by Friday. This is the reason the Freedom Caucus didn’t officially endorse him. However, Paul Ryan made a statement on Wednesday declaring that although he didn’t want the job, Freedom Caucus’ offer of support that demonstrated party unity made him change his mind.
Paul Ryan said, “I’m grateful for the support of a supermajority of the House Freedom Caucus.” Ryan further articulated “I look forward to hearing from the other two caucuses by the end of the week, but I believe this is a positive step toward a unified Republican team.”Endorsements of the Republican Study Committee and the Centrist Group are something Paul Ryan is expected to win this week. Winning over the Freedom Caucus, which has clashed frequently in recent years with House GOP leaders, was arguably his biggest challenge.
A major reason behind Freedom Caucus support is the fact that if Paul Ryan isn’t elected speaker, Republicans don’t have an alternative plan. Pressure has been mounting since House speaker John Boehner announced his retirement last month while the Freedom Caucus halted the rise of House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy. Paul Ryan had set some conditions to run for speaker. This included time with his family and change to House rules. These were the conditions the Freedom Caucus hadn’t agreed to.
However, the group resoundingly praised the 45-year-old lawmaker and vowed to resolve differences concerning Paul Ryan’s demands. After a meeting between the group and Paul Ryan concluded, the Caucus said “Paul is a policy entrepreneur who has developed conservative reforms dealing with a wide variety of subjects, and he has promised to be an ideas-focused Speaker who will advance limited government principles and devolve power to the membership,”
Paul Ryan’s dream job has always been “chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee.” This is a position he’s currently using to bring about legislative and tax changes that may see light of the day under a Republican president. However, it seems that the calls of his colleagues coupled with the fear that no one qualified would ever step up, have forced him to change his mind.
If all 435 members vote, a speaker needs a majority of all lawmakers to be elected to the House floor. Lawmakers are expected to vote for House Minority Leader as unity still exists within the Democratic caucus. This is a cause of concern for Paul Ryan and his supporters as the Republican nominee would fall short of the 218-vote threshold if the full Freedom Caucus defected.
Whatever happens in the future is for time to tell but for now the position of House Speaker is in sight for Paul Ryan!
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