House Speaker John Boehner said Wednesday he believes Rep. Paul Ryan can win enough support from the Republican conference to succeed him in an Oct. 29 floor election.
“I think Paul is going to get the support he is looking for,” Boehner said after exiting a closed-door conference with GOP lawmakers.
“He laid out a very clear vision of how he would run the speakership, and I thought the members responded very well to it. I feel pretty good about it,” he added.
Boehner scheduled the internal GOP election for speaker for Oct. 28, just a day before the floor vote. It means Ryan will have to shore up enough Republican support by then to ensure he can prevail when both Republicans and Democrats vote the next day.
Ryan has just a few days to determine whether the House Freedom Caucus, comprised of about 40 conservative members, will abandon their endorsement of Rep. Daniel Webster and instead back his candidacy.
Ryan plans to meet with the group today.
“He works hard, he’s very bright and he has good relationships with all the wings of the party,” Boehner said Wednesday when asked if Ryan can united the GOP.
