Paul Ryan Decides To Continue With Speaker Bid

By Kerry Picket, Kerry Picket

Published December 20, 2015

WASHINGTON — After receiving support for speaker from almost 70 percent of the House Freedom Caucus, Ways And Means Chairman Paul Ryan decided to go forward with a bid for the speaker’s gavel.

Ryan did not receive an official endorsement of the Freedom Caucus, as that required 80 percent support from the caucus members, but the 70 percent willing to vote for him on the floor would be enough to give him the leadership position. Without the endorsement, however, Ryan’s preconditions to be speaker were not agreed to by the members of the Freedom Caucus.

“I’m grateful for the support of a supermajority of the House Freedom Caucus,” Chairman Ryan tweeted in a statement Wednesday night. “I look forward to hearing from the other two caucuses by the end of the week, but I believe this is a positive step toward a unified Republican team.”

The Freedom Caucus responded to Ryan’s acceptance in a statement saying:

The members of the other two GOP factions, the Republican Study Committee and the Tuesday Group, are expected to at least support Ryan if not outright endorse the Wisconsin Republican. Outgoing Speaker John Boehner has scheduled the speaker election to be held next Wednesday.

URL

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/paul-ryan-decides-to-continue-with-speaker-bid