Skip to main content
Friday, November 13, 2026Nov 13
Subscribe
All Sections
Search
More

Ryan’s break from Trump prompts talk of GOP rebellion

FILE - In this May 12, 2016, file photo, House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wis. speaks with reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, following his meeting with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. The escalating clash between Ryan and Trump is prompting warnings of retaliation against the speaker from rank-and-file House Republicans. That means Ryan could face a rebellion like the one that drove former Speaker John Boehner into retirement and that may test Ryan’s hold on his own job. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File)
FILE - In this May 12, 2016, file photo, House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wis. speaks with reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, following his meeting with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. The escalating clash between Ryan and Trump is prompting warnings of retaliation against the speaker from rank-and-file House Republicans. That means Ryan could face a rebellion like the one that drove former Speaker John Boehner into retirement and that may test Ryan’s hold on his own job. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File) FILE - In this May 12, 2016, file photo, House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wis. speaks with reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, following his meeting with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. The escalating clash between Ryan and Trump is prompting warnings of retaliation against the speaker from rank-and-file House Republicans. That means Ryan could face a rebellion like the one that drove former Speaker John Boehner into retirement and that may test Ryan’s hold on his own job. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File)

By Associated Press 4 min read

WASHINGTON (AP) – House Speaker Paul Ryan’s abandonment of Donald Trump is aimed at protecting Republican control of the House. But it may test his hold on his own job and his long-term ambitions.

Ryan’s announcement this week that he won’t defend his party’s volatile presidential nominee and that GOP candidates should choose their own paths to victory – with or without Trump – has impelled some Republicans to suggest they may not back his re-election as speaker.

“Given the stakes of this election, if Paul Ryan isn’t for Trump, then I’m not for Paul Ryan,” Rep. Jim Bridenstine, R-Okla., said Wednesday on Twitter.

Assuming Republicans remain in control of the House after November’s elections – which no longer seems assured – Ryan, R-Wis., may need every GOP vote he can get to keep his post. That means he can’t afford to let this week’s trickle of defiant Republican lawmakers grow much larger.

Ryan, 46, was his party’s 2012 vice presidential candidate and many think he could run for the GOP presidential nomination in 2020 or beyond. Losing an election for the speakership could be a blow to any loftier political ambitions.