Ryan Poised for Speakership

Paul Ryan Copyright Christopher Halloran — Copyright: Christopher Halloran

With key endorsements secured, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) is preparing to assume the role of Speaker of the House. Ryan insisted that 80 percent or more of the House Freedom Caucus to support him, along with the moderate Tuesday Group and slightly less conservative Republican Study Committee. In the lead up to next week’s speaker election, it appears 60 percent support from the Freedom Caucus will have to do, with all three groups endorsing Ryan this week, but only conditional support from the Freedom Caucus.

Ryan has focused on uniform support for his speakership in recent days, saying he is willing to “take arrows in the chest but not in the back,” referencing the challenges faced by outgoing Speaker John Boehner (R-OH). With party and full House elections set for next week, the House hopes to get back to regular order soon. Boehner continues to explore options for leaving the next Speaker as clear a schedule as possible. That includes addressing the debt ceiling and potentially the Highway Bill between now and the end of next week.

However, conservatives have already signaled they will not vote for a debt ceiling increase without concessions from President Obama on entitlements and other discretionary spending. This will be an important undercurrent to watch as the drama plays out over the speaker elections next week.

Ryan Poised for Speakership

October 22, 2015