House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday denied reports that he is pushing Speaker Paul Ryan to step down months ahead of his planned retirement.
“It’s not true,” McCarthy, R-Calif., told reporters Tuesday following a closed-door GOP meeting.
Despite McCarthy’s denials, The Weekly Standard said Tuesday morning it stands by its reporting that says McCarthy is taking steps behind the scenes to get Ryan to step down early.
“The Weekly Standard has published two stories in recent days about efforts by House majority leader Kevin McCarthy to replace Paul Ryan as speaker of the House before the November elections,” editor in chief Stephen Hayes wrote. “McCarthy and his team have denied the claims and personally attacked our reporters.”
“Our response: The Weekly Standard stands by our reporting, without qualification,” he added.
Ryan, R-Wis., planned to leave town Tuesday to attend his son’s graduation, but instead remained in the Capitol to call on the rank and file to “act like a majority” to pass the Republican agenda. The GOP last week sunk a major farm policy bill over an unrelated immigration measure, leading some to question whether Ryan has the power hold the group together despite his lame-duck status.
Ryan announced recently this will be his last term. Ryan on Tuesday suggested again that he won’t give up the gavel before January, but did not say so explicitly.
“I obviously serve at the pleasure of the members,” Ryan said after the meeting with GOP lawmakers. “The members drafted me into this job because of who I am and what I stand for. Members very much agree we should complete our work and act on our agenda. Having a divisive leadership election would prevent us from doing that.”
Lawmakers leaving the closed-door meeting said they wanted Ryan to remain on the job and did not want to hold new leadership elections now.
McCarthy is considered Ryan’s likely successor, but according to conservatives, he does not have enough votes to win the speaker’s gavel yet.
