Former House speaker Newt Gingrich warned on Sunday that Christmas at Rep. Paul Ryan’s house, R-Wis., could look like Christmas at Speaker John Boehner’s house.
“I think Paul should be very cautious. He is the most prestigious member of the House on the Republican side, he has the best future, he’s still very young. It’s easy to get to 218 on the first vote,” said Gingrich on “Fox News Sunday,” before listing off a series of bills the House must resolve before December.
“You get to keeping the government open, to a continuing resolution, then you get to the debt ceiling, if you’re not careful, by Christmas you resemble John Boehner,” Gingrich said.
It’s been speculated — largely by Fox News host Sean Hannity — that the House could elect Gingrich as speaker if no viable alternatives arise. Gingrich, who previously served as speaker from 1995-1999, also spoke of that possibility.
“Our mutual friend Sean Hannity asked the question in a way that was impossible to say no. If 218 members approached you and they said they were collectively for you, are you going to say no?” said Gingrich. “No citizen is going to say I would turn that down. But the odds against that happening are enormous; it’s totally implausible, Calista and I are making no plans to return to Capitol Hil.”
However, he said, in the event he did return, the contentious nature of the body wouldn’t bother him. “You’re living in a world where I would argue, the House actually, the turmoil in the House, is closer to where our country is,” Gingrich said. “If you take [presidential contenders] Trump, Carson, Fiorina and Cruz … those four [outsiders] are 60 percent of the current Republican primary” votes.
It takes 218 votes to become speaker of the House, but prospective candidates need not be members of the chamber to become speaker. Republicans currently hold 247 seats in the 435-member body. Ryan, who just became chairman of the coveted Ways and Means Committee in November, has repeatedly said he does not want to run.
