In announcing his potential candidacy for
the speaker's job earlier this week, Ryan
had said he wanted endorsements from all
three groups to guarantee he would emerge as
a unity candidate for House Republicans --
not risk becoming the latest victim of the
intraparty unrest roiling Capitol Hill and
the presidential campaign. The Freedom
Caucus' support fell short of a formal
endorsement, since that would have required
80 percent agreement that the group was not
able to achieve, but Ryan accepted it as a
show of unity.
The decision would put the Wisconsin
lawmaker in a role he never wanted and did
not intend to seek, but could offer the
fratricidal House GOP a chance to chart a
new course after years of chaos, and allow
Republicans to refocus away from fighting
each other and onto the race for the White
House.
"Paul's a uniquely capable communicator
and it will be an asset for us to have his
ability to frame the issues that we all care
about," said GOP Rep. Patrick Meehan of
Pennsylvania. Ryan's leadership will
"support really what will be an agenda going
into the 2016 campaign season," Meehan said.
Ryan had sought the speakership only when
a dangerous leadership void emerged in the
House after Boehner announced plans to
resign under conservative pressure, and
Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy abruptly
withdrew from the race to replace him.
Although a dozen or so other lawmakers were
also exploring the race, most Republicans
viewed Ryan as the only figure capable of
uniting warring factions in the GOP.
Read MoreGOP
lawmaker: Speaker sets House elections for
next week
Ryan initially demurred but relented
under heavy pressure from GOP leaders --
with conditions. He sought united support
and enough flexibility to spend time with
his wife and kids in Wisconsin. He also
sought to change a House rule allowing an
individual lawmaker to force a vote on
ousting the speaker at any time, the arcane
procedure conservatives were threatening
against Boehner before he resigned.
That last point seemed to remain
unresolved, since the Freedom Caucus
specified that its support for Ryan didn't
extend to the rules changes he sought.
Indeed, members of the group suggested that
their support for Ryan was just as
conditional as his planned candidacy had
been, and they could turn on him if he takes
the House in a direction they don't want to
go.
"We can support him and we want him to be
successful, but we want to make sure also
that he understands that this is not about
crowning a king," said Rep. Raul Labrador of
Idaho. "This is about working together and
making sure that every member feels like
they're empowered."
An early test may be the need to raise
the federal government's borrowing limit by
Nov. 3 or face unprecedented default. Most
Republicans will not vote to raise the debt
limit without concessions that the White
House has already ruled out
Another deadline looms in early December,
on whether to pass spending legislation or
risk a government shutdown.
Both instances might be cases where
Republican leaders would have to rely
largely on Democratic votes to achieve their
goals, a practice the Freedom Caucus
strongly opposes and wants to see Ryan
avoid.
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http://www.cnbc.com/2015/10/22/paul-ryan-i-am-ready-and-eager-to-be-our-speaker.html