Mitt Romney Holds Off on Backing Paul Ryan for Speaker

“I don’t think it’s a deal breaker, but it is something he has to deal with”, he said.

Steve Womack said Thursday he’ll vote for rule changes to rein in the Freedom Caucus, a group of fellow GOP House members who are challenging the current party leadership. His approval rating remained unchanged among the nation’s Republicans, but independents and Democrats are suddenly much more fond of him. Rep. Bill Flores, the chairman of the Republican Study Committee, told members this week that he would jump in if Ryan is out.

Despite Priebus’ thought that “history is on our side”, what he is saying is clear: Republicans are winning House and Senate seats thanks to gerrymandered districts that concentrate pockets of conservatism, but their national appeal has all but dried up.

But there is always the possibility that Ryan could stay on, as a speaker into the next Congress and push his pro-immigration agenda with the help of a new president, said Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, which opposes legal status for undocumented immigrants. The congressman many are pinning their hopes on now is Paul Ryan, who doesn’t want to be a speaker.

“He can bridge the philosophical divide and he’s a great spokesperson”.

“We are all hopeful that Paul is going to say that he would appreciate the opportunity to serve as speaker”, said Rep. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, adding that she’s been encouraged by colleagues to look at the job.

“I’ll just have to trust my constituents to know I’m conservative”, he said. “And he has continued to insist he doesn’t want the job, even as party leaders view him as the only candidate who can heal rifts in the GOP conference”.

LGBT comments made by the Kentucky senator were mischaracterized on social media by excluding context. Yet, even by the Republicans’ recent standards, this was taking indiscipline in the majority party, and the threat it represents to America’s political order, to a new extreme. “He’s a really good, good guy”, Kelly said. It’s a Tea Party versus establishment battle. In the past, Republicans have tried to use the threat of debt default to try and force policy concessions from the White House, only to back down and eventually abandon the tactic altogether.

Conaway, chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, said in a statement to McClatchy: “I’m flattered and there are conversations going on within the family, the 25 Texans and the 247 Members of our Republican Conference, member to member, as to who that person might be”.

“The president has a lot of power and so does the Senate”, said Walden. We’ve got to get it right. He was supposed to be the one who could accommodate the extreme wing of the party while also being moderate enough to get things done. Congressman Kevin McCarthy dropped a bombshell on the political sphere when he announced he was withdrawing his name from the Speakership race on October 8.

“We’re looking for a bottoms-up approach that involves more members, that is consistent with conservative principles”, Rep. Tim Huelskamp, R-Kansas, said in the phone’ interview Wednesday with CBS News.

“He’s quite a fixture around the Janesville community, and that would definitely change”, Johnson said. This was dramatic; Mr McCarthy had been lobbying his colleagues only moments earlier and his rivals, Daniel Webster and Jason Chaffetz, respectively of Florida and Utah, had so little support that Mr Boehner postponed the vote.