House Speaker Paul Ryan said Friday he is running again for the top job in Congress, and dismissed a report saying he might step down after next week’s election.
The Hill ran an anonymously sourced story this week saying Ryan wouldn’t try to remain on as the House speaker, but when asked about that story on WTAQ radio in Green Bay, Ryan said, “Not true.”
“This is the typical chatter you have every two years,” Ryan said. “They call it palace intrigue in the Hill rags. I am going to seek staying on as speaker. There’s a lot of unfinished work to do and I think I can do a lot to help our cause and our country. I’ve led us to offer a very comprehensive agenda to take to the country and I want to execute and implement that agenda.”
Ryan is a very popular speaker, even among conservatives who helped force the ouster of his predecessor, former Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio. But his election is not a certainty and he has long expressed a willingness to walk away if lawmakers decided they don’t want him to remain speaker.
Still, his political fate may rest with the outcome of the Nov. 8 election.
If Republicans remain in the majority, as is expected, it is likely to be a smaller one. If it is just razor-thin, Ryan may have trouble winning over all the conservative members of the GOP who have voted against the Republican speaker since 2012.
On the other hand, a smaller majority may have a silver lining for Ryan, as political parties tend to pull together when they are just a few seats ahead of their minority opposition.
And Ryan has another important factor on his side. The GOP has no real alternative candidate for speaker who at this point could win 218 votes. Freedom Caucus members float some of their own favorites, like HFC president Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, but ousting Ryan would pit the House GOP against each other with the vast majority pulling for Ryan.
Ryan must win an election by a majority of the entire House, including Democrats who will nearly all vote for Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi or some other Democrat. That means Republicans must secure 218 GOP votes.
Ryan said he will begin phoning each GOP lawmaker after the election to ask for their support. He told the radio show he feels good about where he is with securing conference support for another term.
Some conservatives told the Washington Examiner they will press Ryan for certain assurances before offering their support. Some, for example, want Ryan to say he will not look to pass the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal or an immigration reform bill other than one that improves border security.
They may also demand the House begin to use its “power of the purse” to eliminate Obamacare and onerous government regulations.
Rep. Dave Brat, R-Va., said the election has demonstrated a tremendous frustration among voters with Washington and a desire for change.
“If leadership proceeds with Obama wanting the TPP for his legacy and our leadership goes that way and hasn’t learned from the massive outrage of the American people, then we are in trouble,” Brat told the Washington Examiner.
So far, GOP leaders have indicated that a vote won’t happen, and have said they do not believe TPP can pass Congress in its current form.
Members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus will also demand GOP leaders back down from a proposed rule change that would prevent individual members from calling for a vote to oust the speaker.
But Ryan is not expected to make huge concessions or changes to House operations in order to secure his position, aides have said.
