Conservative Who Tried to Oust Boehner Says Paul Ryan Could Be Unstoppable

Conservative Who Tried to Oust Boehner Says Paul Ryan Could Be Unstoppable

By Josh Siegelon Fri, 9 Oct 2015

After a band of conservatives undercut Kevin McCarthy’s assumed ascension to speaker of the House, Republicans turned to the only person they see as indestructible: Paul Ryan.

Though Ryan has so far resisted the persistent pleas of his counterparts (he is said to be taking the weekend to make a final decision, according to The Washington Post) the force could be too strong.

Indeed, even the 40 or so members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus may be reluctant to block a Ryan speakership.

“If Paul Ryan enters the race, it will make it a much quicker race,” said Rep. Mark Meadows, who led the effort to oust Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and helped found the Freedom Caucus.

“Regardless of how he may or may not stand up on some conservative lists, you would be hard-pressed to have a vice presidential nominee not be considered enough of a candidate to be speaker of the House. If you voted for him for the second highest position, certainly voting for him as the third highest position would be difficult to make an argument against.”

In an interview with The Daily Signal on Friday, Meadows, R-N.C., said the Freedom Caucus would have a formal conference call over the House’s upcoming week-long recess to discuss Ryan specifically.

A day after the Freedom Caucus vowed to stand by long shot Rep. Daniel Webster, R-Fla., Meadows made clear a Ryan run would change the equation.

“There are a number of my colleagues who certainly respect Paul Ryan and consider him to be a credible candidate for the speaker’s job,” Meadows said.

“I believe there was still a path for McCarthy to be the speaker, so suggesting that Ryan would be opposed by the Freedom Caucus is not really along the lines of where ultimately this election may lead.”

Meadows took it a step farther and said the Freedom Caucus is willing to support McCarthy, R-Calif., on the House floor—and would do the same for Ryan.

“The fact the Freedom Caucus endorsed Dan Webster for that first ballot—because it was such a fluid situation—doesn’t necessarily mean we would have stayed firm on that. We have individual areas we want addressed, whether it’s by Dan or someone else.”