Paul Ryan’s conditional run for speaker fell flat with at least one key conservative Tuesday night, who said his choice is still Rep. Daniel Webster, a member who is pledging to end the “top down” leadership approach.
Rep. Tim Huelskamp, R-Kan., head of the House Tea Party Caucus, called Ryan’s conditions for becoming the next speaker “entirely unreasonable.” Those conditions include a request that the House eliminate a rule that allows a member to seek a vote to oust the speaker. That provision is part of the original rules of the House, authored by Thomas Jefferson.
“No other speaker I know of would ever have as much power as Paul Ryan asked for himself,” Huelskamp said following a meeting among Republican lawmakers. “Is he serious?”
Ryan outlined his conditions in the meeting but took no questions, Huelskamp said. Webster, who is now the only other official candidate for speaker, was not allowed time to address the conference.
Ryan told the conference he would run only if he wins the endorsement of the major House factions, including the moderates and conservatives.
Huelskamp said he also found unsettling Ryan’s plan to return home on the weekends, rather than work in the Capitol or attend fundraisers for House GOP candidates. Ryan said he wanted to avoid travel in order to spend time with his family.
While Ryan received an overwhelmingly positive response from Republicans in a closed-door meeting Tuesday, he still lacks the endorsement of the House Freedom Caucus, made up of Huelskamp and about 40 conservatives who so far are endorsing Webster for speaker.
The group made the decision to back Webster following a vote earlier this month in which the Florida Republican earned the backing of 80 percent of the group.
They will meet again this week to discuss Ryan’s candidacy. Some House Freedom Caucus members have said they are open to Ryan running for speaker, but the rules changes remain a sticking point. They want more say in legislation and an end to the punishment of conservatives who vote against the leadership.
Huelskamp is among a handful of conservatives who Boehner stripped of committee assignments. Huelskamp in 2012 lost his seats on both the Agriculture Committee and the House Budget Committee, which was at the time chaired by Ryan.
“I don’t think he changed 80 percent of our minds not to support Daniel Webster,” Huelskamp said of Ryan.
Conservative lawmakers are seeking changes in the House rules that will decentralize the power in the House GOP, which they say is concentrated in the Speaker’s office with little input from the rest of the conference.
Huelskamp said Ryan appears to be seeking even further consolidation, which won’t win conservative support and is a sign the Wisconsin Republican may not be serious about his desire to seek the gavel.
“I just don’t think he really wants the job,” Huelskamp said.
