WASHINGTON — Many Republicans are urging Rep. Paul Ryan, the GOP vice presidential nominee in 2012, to run for House speaker in the aftermath of Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy's sudden decision to abandon his campaign for the post.
"I've talked with Paul Ryan. He's talking to people. I think he'd make a great speaker," McCarthy, R-Calif., said Friday morning as he entered a closed-door Republican meeting. "It's a big decision. He's got to talk to his wife and everybody else, and it's got to be his decision."
Ryan has insisted he's not interested in the post, preferring to focus on his chairmanship of the Ways and Means Committee.
Republicans met Friday morning to discuss their next move, and even before that session several potential candidates for the top post surfaced. But lawmakers said nothing was decided at Friday's gathering.
Boehner also told the conference that he is intent on holding elections for speaker at the end of the month.
Later, Ryan's spokesman Brendan Buck issued a statement saying: "Chairman Ryan appreciates the support he's getting from his colleagues but is still not running for speaker."
Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, himself a candidate for the speaker's post, said he'd back Ryan should he seek the job, adding, "I would hope that he would do it."
Read Saturday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.