Paul Ryan Wins Backing of Majority in Freedom Caucus For House Speaker - The New York Times

Paul Ryan Wins Backing of Majority in Freedom Caucus for House
Speaker
Photo
Representative Paul D. Ryan arrived for a morning Republican Caucus meeting on Capitol Hill on Wednesday.
Credit Doug Mills/The New York Times
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A strong majority of anti-establishment conservatives in the House Freedom Caucus voted on Wednesday
night to support Representative Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin for House speaker, assuring that he will have
the votes to secure the post next week and averting a leadership crisis for Republicans.
Mr. Ryan indicated that he was prepared to seize the gavel and try to bring unity to his party, which has
been riven over how House leaders exert authority over members. That fight had become so bitter that it
forced the resignation of Speaker John A. Boehner and derailed the candidacy of the majority leader,
Representative Kevin McCarthy, to replace him.
Im grateful for the support of a supermajority of the House Freedom Caucus, Mr. Ryan said in a
statement, referring to the two-thirds vote he received.
The apparent coalescing of support behind Mr. Ryan, 45, comes at a critical moment for Congress, with
votes expected to begin as soon as next week over raising the governments borrowing authority, the first
of several pressing fiscal matters.
While the vote fell short of the four-fifths majority required for the Freedom Caucus to deliver its official
endorsement, lawmakers said it did deliver the party unity that Mr. Ryan had set as a condition for
accepting the position.
In a statement, the Freedom Caucus said its members had disagreed with one another about other
conditions Mr. Ryan had set for serving as speaker. While no consensus exists among members of the
House Freedom Caucus regarding Chairman Ryans preconditions for serving, the group said in its
statement, we believe that these issues can be resolved within our conference in due time.
The group added, We all know that Washington needs to change the way it does business, and we look
forward to working with Paul and all our colleagues to enact process reforms that empower individual
representatives and restore respect to our institution.
Two other party factions are expected to formally give their support by Friday, meaning that Mr. Ryan will
be selected as the Republican nominee next Wednesday and officially affirmed as speaker in a floor vote
the next day.
One hard-liner, Representative Ral Labrador of Idaho, said that roughly two-thirds of the Freedom
Caucus had pledged to vote for Mr. Ryan for speaker, and he called the outcome an offer of support.
Mr. Labrador, however, also warned that the groups backing was far from unconditional.
We want to make sure he understands that this is not about crowning a king, he said. Its about working
together.
Graphic
Any candidate for the speakership
which requires the approval of a majority
of the House will need the support of at
least some of the hard-line members.

Emerging from the meeting, another member of the Freedom Caucus,
Representative Justin Amash of Michigan, said of the vote, Its
sufficient for him to
become the next speaker, in my opinion.

Mr. Ryan, a fiscal policy expert who has insisted that he
never wanted the speakers gavel, is chairman of the
tax-writing Ways and Means Committee, which he has
long said is his dream job.
The vote by the Freedom Caucus seemed to effectively
end a leadership crisis that has thrown the House into
disarray over the last few weeks.
OPEN Graphic
The unexpected resignation announcement by Mr. Boehner late last month was followed by Mr. McCarthy
of California abandoning his own bid for the position in the face of conservative opposition.
After that, Mr. Boehner had other party leaders plead with Mr. Ryan to reconsider his position.
Mr. Ryan said on Tuesday night that he would reluctantly accept the speakership, but only if his
Republican colleagues united behind him and agreed to several demands.
These included changes to a procedure for removing the speaker from office that would deprive rebel
lawmakers of a potent weapon.
Continue reading the main story Video
Paul Ryan Mulls House Speaker Position
Representative Paul D. Ryan, Republican of Wisconsin, said that he is considering running for House speaker with reluctance, but that he is
worried about the consequences of not stepping up.
By REUTERS on Publish Date October 21, 2015. Photo by Zach Gibson/The New York Times. Watch in Times Video
Representative Mark Meadows, Republican of North Carolina, began that procedure, a motion to vacate
the chair, against Mr. Boehner in July. Mr. Meadows could have forced a vote within two days, but
stopped short of doing so.
A spokesman for Mr. Ryan said he did not believe any speaker could serve successfully without a change in
that procedure.
He believes there needs to be a change to the process for a motion to vacate the chair, the spokesman,
Brendan Buck, wrote in a briefing paper for reporters.
No matter who is speaker, they cannot be successful with this weapon pointed at them all the time.
Earlier on Wednesday, a number of Freedom Caucus members expressed resistance to Mr. Ryans
demands, particularly the one regarding the motion to vacate the chair. And some members said they were
worried that Mr. Ryan did not really want the job.
If you listen to Paul, what you hear is I dont want the job, said Representative Mick Mulvaney of South
Carolina, a founder of the Freedom Caucus. He went from I dont want it and I wont take it to I dont
want it, but I might take it under certain terms and conditions. The preface to both of those statements is
still I dont want it.
That opposition softened significantly Wednesday night as members began to say they would support Mr.
Ryan. Representative Marlin Stutzman, Republican of Indiana, issued a statement Wednesday evening
saying that Mr. Ryans record on fiscal issues had won his vote.
Since coming into office in 2010, my single biggest focus has been on our annual deficits and our longterm debt, Mr. Stutzman said in the statement. In my observation, no one is more qualified to tackle
these issues than Chairman Ryan.
He added, There is no doubt that Paul Ryan is the person best positioned to lead our party.
By thrusting the decision into the hands of his colleagues, Mr. Ryan seemed to make a calculated gamble
that the Freedom Caucus would not want to be seen as derailing his candidacy and prolonging the
leadership crisis among House Republicans. But there was also a risk in pushing too hard against a group
whose members have shown a willingness to shut down the government or even default on federal debt
obligations while standing on their beliefs.
The Freedom Caucus previously endorsed Representative Daniel Webster, a little-known Florida
lawmaker who has promised to completely change the way the House does business, giving more power to
committees and the rank and file. Mr. Webster has virtually no chance of winning, but said on Wednesday
that he was still a candidate.
Mr. Ryan had set a Friday deadline for three key groups the relatively centrist Tuesday Group, the
mainstream conservative Republican Study Committee and the Freedom Caucus to endorse him and
agree to his demands. Only the Freedom Caucus had expressed any doubt about supporting him.
While it takes only 148 of 247 Republicans to win next Wednesdays vote, it requires 218 votes on the floor
to win the speakership. By tradition, Democrats will vote for their leader, Nancy Pelosi.
Mr. Ryans announcement that he was willing to serve came as a relief to many of his colleagues, who
wondered if anyone would step up and take the job under the current circumstances.
Theres only one guy, I think, who can unite us, said Representative Tom Cole of Oklahoma, who counts
Mr. Ryans in-laws as constituents and has known the family for years.
Theres one guy with national stature. I think Paul Ryan is the best guy to put 218 votes-plus up on the
board.

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Continue reading the main story

become the next speaker, in my opinion.

disarray over the last few weeks.

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