Right-wing entertainers bail on Paul Ryan

Paul Ryan's loudest enemies in his path to becoming the next House speaker are the same members of conservative media who once called him their darling.

Rep. Kevin McCarthy's, R-Calif., sudden exit last week from the speaker race has left a void that GOP leaders think the Wisconsin congressman should fill. Ryan has told reporters he is not interested in the job, but rumors persist that he can be convinced otherwise.

For right-wing media stars, including radio hosts Laura Ingraham and Mark Levin and Fox News' Sean Hannity, Ryan would be a disastrous choice for speaker. To them, the chair of the House Ways and Means Committee would likely do nothing to oppose the Democratic Party's agenda on immigration and free trade.

"They tried Eric Cantor. They tried McCarthy. The only 'Young Gun' left is Ryan who just gave Obama [Trade Promotion Authority]," Ingraham griped on social media, referring to lawmakers granting the president the authority to negotiate international trade deals that can't be filibustered or amended by Congress. "The Establishment GOP routinely promotes [people] who are just really not very smart — or as McCarthy [would] say: They're 'untrustable."

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