Paul Ryan Says He Will Run For Speaker But Only If GOP Extremists In Congress Agree To Support Him

Paul Ryan has offered House Republicans an ultimatum. 

Rep. Paul Ryan, who for weeks has insisted he had no interest in replacing John Boehner as Speaker, Tuesday night agreed to run if and only if three groups, including two conservative extremist factions in the House, support his candidacy. Ryan spent hours yesterday in a closed door meeting with members of the House Freedom Caucus – the most extreme, far right faction in Congress. He also spoke with members of the far right conservative Republican Study Committee, which used to be the most right-wing faction in the House, and with the more moderate Tuesday Caucus.

Ryan made clear he will run for Speaker only if these three groups back him, and if they remove a congressional procedure, called the motion to vacate the chair, that allows members of the House to remove the Speaker, a threat they recently pointed at John Boehner. Ryan, citing his young family, also insisted he will not spend time traveling to fundraise, as his predecessors increasingly have.

“If you can agree to these requests and if I can truly be a unifying figure, then I will gladly serve,” The 45-year old Republican from Wisconsin said in a press conference Tuesday night. “This is not a job I’ve ever wanted,” he reminded them also.

But Politico and Bloomberg just hours later reported the House Freedom Caucus, which effectively ended John Boehner’s career, was not going to cede to Ryan’s demands.

ThinkProgress explains the House Freedom Caucus is “seeking a series of commitments from a potential speaker candidates that would send the country over a cliff.”

“For example, they want the next speaker to refuse to raise the debt ceiling unless it is tied to cuts in Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid,” Judd Legum at ThinkProgress reports. “This is something the Democrats in Congress and President Obama would never agree to, potentially setting up the country for catastrophic default.”

If Freedom Caucus does not back Ryan and accept his demands, the House will increasingly grow into greater chaos, with that vital vote to raise the debt ceiling coming up possibly this week, but no later than the beginning of November. Failure to pass a debt ceiling increase could shut the government down again and throw world markets into chaos. It would also make the GOP appear even more unable to govern than they’ve already proven.

Here’s how some Congressional extremists reacted last night, according to these reporters:

 

 

Image: Screenshot via AC360/Twitter