GOP lawmakers push for Ryan in speaker job

Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., repeatedly refused to comment Friday on the House speaker position.
Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., repeatedly refused to comment Friday on the House speaker position.

WASHINGTON -- House Republicans put pressure on Rep. Paul Ryan on Friday to rescue them from their leadership vacuum in the aftermath of Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy's decision to abandon his bid to be speaker of the House. But the GOP's 2012 vice presidential nominee showed little appetite for the job.

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AP

Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, said Friday that he is still a candidate for speaker of the House but would support Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin if he decided to seek the post.

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AP Photo

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., is shown in this photo.

The Wisconsin Republican, who is chairman of the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee -- his dream job, he has repeatedly declared -- refused comment as reporters followed him at the Capitol.

McCarthy's abrupt decision came just two weeks after the current speaker, John Boehner of Ohio, announced his own plans to resign at month's end, citing opposition from the small but strident bloc of hard-line conservatives who almost immediately turned against California's McCarthy.

So GOP lawmakers, from Boehner and McCarthy on down, turned to Ryan, 45, the only figure in the House seen as having the stature, wide appeal and intelligence to lead Republicans as they confront fiscal challenges in the months to come, including raising the debt ceiling, a highway bill and a looming Dec. 11 deadline to keep the government funded.

"He'd be an amazing speaker," McCarthy declared to a bank of TV cameras after Republicans met privately to discuss their predicament. "But he's got to decide."

Said Rep. Lynn Westmoreland of Georgia, "He's the only guy who can unite us right now."

Not long after, Ryan rushed out of the Capitol, refusing to talk to reporters. With Congress heading into a weeklong recess, he was on his way home to Janesville, Wis., to his wife and three children.

"Chairman Ryan appreciates the support he's getting from his colleagues but is still not running for speaker," said Brendan Buck, Ryan's spokesman.

Republicans have been determined to do what they could to get Ryan to reconsider. Rep. Darrell Issa of California said he carried Ryan's gym bag for him Friday morning in an effort to persuade him to run.

"He's the consensus candidate at this point," Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., said after the meeting. "He's both vetted and has the experience of chairing not one but two committees."

Earlier Friday, Issa used two appearances on cable TV to announce he would consider running for the post. Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz, chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said he remains a candidate for speaker but also would support Ryan if he entered in the race.

Ryan even fielded a call from his presidential running mate, Mitt Romney.

Romney later issued a statement declaring: "Paul has a driving passion to get America back on a path of growth and opportunity. With Paul, it's not just words, it's in his heart and soul."

McCarthy is also pushing Ryan to run and reiterated after Friday's meeting that Ryan would "be an amazing speaker" but that he will have to make up his own mind.

"No, look Paul's got to decide on his own," McCarthy said. "But he's got small kids."

The clamor for Ryan dominated Republicans' interest while Democrats watched with a mixture of fascination and trepidation, concerned about the challenges just ahead for Congress.

Several Republicans were quick to warn that despite Ryan's popularity, he, too, could fall victim to the crosscurrents that felled Boehner and blocked McCarthy's ascent.

"The same people who wanted to take down John Boehner, who wanted to take down Kevin McCarthy, are going to want to take down the next guy, too," said Rep. Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania.

Some in the hard-line House Freedom Caucus, a faction of 30-plus conservatives who pressured Boehner before he announced his resignation, were already registering their disapproval of Ryan. And some outside conservatives were pointing to his support for immigration legislation and the 2008 Wall Street bailout as disqualifying him for the speaker's chair.

"I think he has the same problems" as Boehner and McCarthy, said Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona, a Freedom Caucus member. Gosar pointed to Ryan's alliance with McCarthy and former Majority Leader Eric Cantor -- who once termed themselves the "Young Guns" -- and said, "They're definitely conjoined."

Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga., a Freedom Caucus member, said he remains more focused on process than personalities.

"I want to see a change in the culture of Washington, D.C.," he said. "Before we move ahead with a speaker vote, let's address the process, let's address the rules.

"It's the what, not the who," he said.

Others in the Freedom Caucus sounded more open.

"Paul has earned a great deal of credibility, especially on fiscal issues," said Rep. Mick Mulvaney of South Carolina. "And if you look across the right wing of our party that is sort of a unifying theme."

Ryan won praise in 2013 for working with Democratic Sen. Patty Murray on a bipartisan budget deal that scaled back across-the-board cuts on programs ranging from the Pentagon to national parks.

But one Republican close to Ryan said that the only scenario where a Ryan speakership was likely would be if he were to be selected by acclamation, as opposed to having to bargain with the Freedom Caucus for their support in the same manner that undid McCarthy. This Republican demanded anonymity to discuss private considerations.

For now at least, Boehner, who had planned to leave Congress on Oct. 30, told Republicans he will stay on until a new speaker is selected. Among the many decisions pending in Congress is a vote on raising the debt ceiling as the government reaches its limit on borrowing.

"This institution," Boehner said, "cannot grind to a halt."

Some conservative Republicans have said they will vote to raise the debt ceiling only if it is attached to significant reductions in mandatory spending programs, such as Social Security and Medicare. While Boehner could potentially lift the ceiling once again with the help of Democrats, such a move would only worsen the fissures among Republicans.

Rep. Peter Roskam of Illinois had urged Republicans to come to a consensus on a number of issues, including policy priorities and potential changes in how the House operates, before moving to a vote on the new speaker, saying the party needs "a plan, not a person."

Information for this article was contributed by Erica Werner, Alan Fram, Andrew Taylor, Mary Clare Jalonick, Deb Riechmann and Matt Daly of The Associated Press; by Mike DeBonis, Paul Kane, Kelsey Snell and David Weigel of The Washington Post; and by David M. Herszenhorn of The New York Times.

A Section on 10/10/2015

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