House Speaker Paul Ryan may step away from his leadership post, come Election Day, say several sources on Capitol Hill.
Why?
Simply to avoid the turmoil and embarrassment over what appears to be his failure to win the necessary 218 votes for reelection.
Here’s the inside scoop, from the Hill: “Four House Republicans, including a senior lawmaker close to leadership, told The Hill they expect Ryan to step down after Tuesday’s elections, arguing that he faces a daunting path to the 218 votes he needs to win a full two-year term leading the House GOP.”
What a tremendous win that would be for Republicans who aren’t of establishment mindset. Ryan has in recent times angered many on the right for coming out hard against the GOP nominee for president, Donald Trump, and only announcing in recent days he would in fact vote for the billionaire businessman – albeit reluctantly.
Ryan spokespeople are denying he’s going anywhere, though.
Again, from the Hill:
“Aides to the Wisconsin Republican insist he isn’t going anywhere and that he’s completely focused right now on protecting the GOP’s majority in the lower chamber.
“‘He is running. The speaker’s only focus until Election Day is defeating Democrats and protecting our majority, and nothing else,’ Ryan spokeswoman AshLee Strong said.”
Yet Ryan’s own supporters admit he’s faced some tough times of late, due in large part to criticisms from members of the Freedom Caucus, some of whom have flirted with the idea of ousting the speaker after only one year on the job.
“Speculation is growing that Paul will not return,” a senior Republican lawmaker said to the Hill.
And more, from Politico:
“Caucus co-founder Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) told a local radio station last week that chatter about removing Ryan was ‘picking up steam’ because of the speaker’s decision to distance himself from Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. His constituents, Meadows noted, felt Ryan had been disloyal to the party. ‘There will be real discussions after Nov. 8 on who our leadership will be and what that will look like going forward,’ Meadows said.”
There’s not yet an organized push from the Caucus to push Ryan from his leadership post. But the whispers are growing louder as Election Day approaches. And if an outright ousting isn’t agreed upon, many members say they’ll at least fight for Ryan to make more concessions in favor of the conservatives he supposedly represents – and less in line with the Democrats across the aisle.
But here’s a clue to what Ryan might do, again from Politico:
“Allies of Ryan’s say he’d walk away before engaging in a protracted battle with his own conference to keep his post. Unlike former Speaker John Boehner, who long aspired to the job, Ryan only reluctantly decided to take it.”
