WASHINGTON (AP) – Republican hardliners on Sunday said they could support Rep. Paul Ryan for House speaker, opening a potential bridge between bitterly divided GOP factions.
Ryan’s willingness to try to steer a caucus that some say can’t be led is a big “if.” The Ways and Means chairman and 2012 vice presidential candidate is a father to young children and has said publicly he does not want the job. Ryan is home in Wisconsin consulting with his family, away from colleagues, including retiring House Speaker John Boehner, who are pressuring him to run.
But on Sunday, members of the rebel Freedom Caucus and the GOP establishment broadcast their potential support for Ryan, creating what appears to be the sole point of agreement between them after a tumultuous week that left the race for speaker wide open. There are other candidates for the job that’s second-in-line to the presidency, but the path forward for now seems to rest on Ryan’s answer.
“Paul Ryan is a good man. He’s a great communicator, the kind of messenger I think our party needs. And certainly, if he gets in the race, I think our group would look favorably on him,” Freedom Caucus Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, said on “Fox News Sunday.”
The prospect of Ryan as speaker arose after a rollicking two weeks on Capitol Hill, in which Boehner announced his resignation and his heir apparent, Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, abruptly withdrew his candidacy. Freedom Caucus members had presented McCarthy with a list of demands he and top aides concluded could be next to impossible to meet, including a seat at the leadership table, a role in selecting committee chairs and members and more votes on their legislative proposals.