WASHINGTON -- House Speaker Paul Ryan unanimously won his GOP colleagues' votes on Tuesday for another term at the helm. He told fellow Republicans that he had President-elect Donald Trump's support, and he heralded "the dawn of a new, unified Republican government."
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"It feels really good to say that, actually," Ryan told reporters. "This will be a government focused on turning President-elect Trump's victory into real progress for the American people."
House Democrats, on the other hand, announced Tuesday that they were delaying their own leadership elections, originally set for Thursday, until Nov. 30 to give lawmakers more time to process the election results.
It's not clear whether the election delay might morph into a real challenge to Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. She has led House Democrats for more than 12 years and has consolidated support with strong fundraising and an ability to deliver votes, but there's long been grumbling from Democrats who say new leadership is needed.
Rep. G.K. Butterfield, D-N.C., told reporters after a closed meeting, at which Pelosi announced the delay, that he doesn't think Pelosi is at risk. He noted that no one has formally announced plans to oppose her.
"Ms. Pelosi enjoys great support in the caucus, and this doesn't reflect on her," he said of the party's worse-than-expected election results.
As for Ryan, the Wisconsin Republican still has to win a floor vote for speaker in January, when all members of the House will cast ballots, including Democrats.
If about two dozen Republicans were to withhold their support, his election would be thrown into doubt.
Several Republicans made clear this week that although Trump's victory may have eased the internal party tensions that threatened Ryan's speakership before the election, it has not eliminated them entirely.
"I haven't heard from him what he wants to change -- what's going to be different the next two years than the last two years?" said Rep. Raul Labrador, R-Idaho, a co-founder of the conservative House Freedom Caucus. "So far, I'm not hearing anything about changing the way we do business here in Washington, so I'm not ready to support him yet."
But Ryan secured the nomination Tuesday afternoon with the strong backing of his fellow Republicans, even though a few dissenters pushed unsuccessfully to delay the balloting.
Republicans also backed California's Kevin McCarthy to continue as majority leader and Steve Scalise of Louisiana to stay on in the No. 3 job of House whip.
Lawmakers trooped out of their morning meeting in the basement of the Capitol smiling, pledging quick action to roll back President Barack Obama's accomplishments and clutching red "Make America Great Again" hats.
"That was a nice, fun touch. Now here's my problem: Every member wants it autographed," said Rep. Chris Collins, R-N.Y., who has been tapped as congressional liaison to the transition team. "I'm going to have to say, 'President-elect Trump, bring out your Sharpie, we've got to do a lot of autographing.'"
During the meeting, Ryan told colleagues that he'd spoken Tuesday morning with Vice President-elect Mike Pence, who said that he and Trump "are very supportive of the leadership team and are looking forward to working with them," said Rep. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo.
Coming after a campaign full of public GOP infighting and clashes between Ryan and Trump, the declaration of support was "a validating moment," said Lummis.
Republicans had widely been seen as being at risk of losing the Senate and suffering major losses in the House, but they instead lost just two Senate seats and a half-dozen in the House, giving them full control of Washington for the first time in a decade.
For Democrats, ill-feeling was only magnified in defeat.
"Everything's not good. Business as usual is not gonna work," said Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz. "This is about our constituents, saying 'We have heard you.' We have clearly missed the mark with regard to legislation and messaging."
Republicans, though, are upbeat after spending years watching their legislative priorities get stymied, if not by Democrats in the Senate then by Obama's veto pen.
The situation also brings risks since Republicans will have no one to blame but themselves if they can't deliver on Trump's promises. Already GOP leaders and Trump himself have been shifting on some of his pledges, including the border wall and a full repeal of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
On Tuesday, Ryan refused to answer directly when asked if Congress would go along with Trump's plan to spend $1 trillion on infrastructure. "These are things we're working on. ... The point is Donald Trump wants jobs," he said.
In the Senate, Republicans and Democrats are meeting separately today to formally pick their leadership teams. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is keeping his job in a chamber that Republicans will control 52-48. Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., is retiring after a 30-year Senate career and will be replaced by Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
Information for this article was contributed by Erica Werner, Mary Clare Jalonick and Alan Fram of The Associated Press; by Mike DeBonis of The Washington Post; and by Laura Litvan of Bloomberg News.
A Section on 11/16/2016