American Thinker: Rumors have been swirling for months on Capitol Hill that Speaker Paul Ryan will either resign his seat or not serve as speaker if he returns to Congress next year. This has set off something of a scramble among top Republicans to position themselves to replace him if the speaker exits the stage.
Two top members of Paul Ryan’s leadership team, Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Majority Whip Steve Scalise, have begun angling for his job in the event the speaker calls it quits after the election.
They’re closely monitoring the moves of the other and quietly courting Republicans who could help them clinch the top post, according to 20 GOP lawmakers and aides interviewed for this story.
Neither man is actively rounding up votes at this point, and both of them downplayed the possibility of a looming clash. Scalise said in an interview that he would not challenge McCarthy for speaker – “I’m not running against Kevin for anything,” he told POLITICO – while McCarthy said he’s focused solely on keeping the House in November and pursuing President Donald Trump’s agenda.
But Scalise also expressed interest in leading the conference someday – remarks that only intensified simmering speculation in GOP circles about his intentions. Adding to the intrigue, some of Scalise’s allies have urged him to be ready if McCarthy falls short for speaker, as he did in 2015. And some of McCarthy’s allies discount Scalise’s vows not to mount a direct challenge, noting Scalise’s willingness to attempt to leapfrog more senior Republicans in the past.
“Everyone is talking about this,” said one veteran Republican House member who asked not to be named of the brewing rivalry. “We’re sizing them up, seeing who would be a better fit. It’s the prism that we look at them through now.”
As Ryan’s No. 2, McCarthy has the clearest path to the speakership, though it’s far from a lock. Distrust among the conference’s right flank contributed to his failed 2015 bid, when Ryan was recruited as a white knight. McCarthy did not lose interest, however, and he is trying to forge new alliances as well as patch up a once-rocky relationship with the House Freedom Caucus ahead of a potential second run.
By any measurement, Ryan’s tenure as speaker has been a failure. He has failed to keep the caucus together on key budget votes and let the Democrats basically have their way throughout his speakership. more here
If you’re a cop and get shot while on duty you get to pick your next assignment.
Maybe Congress could do this too.
I’m all for giving Scalise a shot.
Ryan is the failed Romney running mate and failed horrendous Speaker. Mcarthy is a bum. Scalise, after surviving them trying to kill him, would stand up to anyone.
Replace him as speaker?! Hell, replace him as CONGRESSMAN, Ohio!!!
Whether Ryan has been a failure or not depends on what he’s been trying to do. I think he’s been trying to impede the president, with a fair degree of success.
Wisconsin I mean.
Tony, much as I wish Ohio could replace Ryan, I’m afraid that job must fall to the Wisconsin district where I live. It’s been tried, but the alternatives so far have been badly flawed.
Is it just too much to ask for a competent conservative Speaker?
Steve King from Iowa or Jim Jordan of Ohio would be best.
It’s all heifer dust and tooth fairy farts.
I’m gonna vote for Howdy Doody or Alfred E. Neuman.
Single handedly, they both are more honest and/or reliable than most politicians.
How about Jason Lewis out of Minnesota?
Giving up the election already, the fucking cowards.
Trump would rule like a Caesar and they’d lick his boots.
A Boston Fern could do a better job as Speaker than Ryan.
Don’t get excited. It’s always the next RINO up.
The Freemasons will vote in who they want.
“Is it just too much to ask for a competent conservative Speaker?”
Is it just too much to ask for a competent Congress that cares about the legal citizens of this country?
I would not mind having Ryan’s RINO head on my wall. It would go well with the coiled rattlesnake I have.
He wants to cost us this coming election before he goes, he promised Mitch he would.
Ryan got his 30 pieces of silver.
He sold America to the nihilistic totalitarians and can now retire fat.
I’m sure there’s a job waiting for him at the bank.
We’re still saddled with ObolaCare because of this sack of shit.
We still have no Wall because of this sack of shit.
We still have no Budget because of this sack of shit.
We still have deficits as far as the eye can see because of this sack of shit.
You know what a sack of shit is good for? Fertilizer.
izlamo delenda est …
Nominate ME!
If its not in our Constitution, the Bill of Rights, or the Bible it doesn’t happen!
These assholes get there and forget where they’re from…meet these assholes at the airport and rag them mercilessly, every day, every where until they get that they fucking work FOR us, not us for them!
Ryan needs to be strung up using McConnell as a counter weight on the other end of the rope! A two-fer!
I’m sure there 500 telephone poles in DC, if the poles are full, all those cherry trees will do just fine and eliminate the odor! Another two-fer…see, and I’ve not even announced my candidacy and I’ve solved most of their problems from right here in southern Ohio!
Two faced lying assholes, ALL of them!