We hope Paul Ryan has enjoyed his time off during the longest summer recess since 1960. From the looks of all those fundraisers in Colorado, New York—and glossing over a few awkward selfie moments in Iowa—it seems like he’s had a blast.
But come Tuesday, it’s time for Speaker Ryan to come back to Congress and get to work. From funding the government, to achieving commonsense gun safety reform, to helping the residents of Flint, to emergency Zika funding, Speaker Ryan has 4 weeks to try and convince everyone that he is a “different kind of Speaker” who can lead where his predecessor failed. Cue in…House Freedom Caucus.
From day one, the House Freedom Caucus has been a thorn in Speaker Ryan’s side – even after he traded away immigration reform to them for a chance at the Speaker’s job. In his first year on the job, Mr. Regular Order has been unable to rein in a House Republican Conference marked by dysfunction and extreme, Trump-like rhetoric. (It’s been a long summer, so in case Mr. Ryan’s forgotten, we’ll refer him to here, here, and here).
Congress isn’t even back from summer break, and already the Huffington Post recently reported that House conservatives are doing what they seem to do best: revolt against Republican leaders.
Huffington Post Headline: “House Conservatives Plot Coup Against Speaker Paul Ryan”
“Denying Ryan re-election on the first ballot would undermine his political future…and may give conservatives leverage to enact rules changes that would help them push their agenda for years… ‘The only leverage any Republican member of the House has for getting rule changes is the speaker vote,’ said one member of the caucus.
[…]
Conservatives…are looking for payback. ‘How can you have a gang, and have one in your gang get stabbed, and do nothing?’ another member asked. ‘You got to stab somebody, or else what’s the point of having a gang?’”
Forget that any talk about rule changes are a pipedream—again, Republicans wasting time is what they do best—but even the most generous observer can’t deny that talks of showdowns and aforementioned stabbings lay bare that things between Ryan and a major block of his conference remain…complicated.
And as multiple news outlets have observed, it’s been complicated for a while:
- Politico: Freedom Caucus Knives Out For Ryan After Huelskamp Loss
- The Hill: Defying Ryan, Conservatives Move To Force Vote On IRS Impeachment
- Huffington Post: Paul Ryan Has A House Freedom Caucus Problem
- NYT: House Republicans Back Away From Gun Vote After Conservatives Rebel
It’s going to be a long September for Paul Ryan. At least he’s still got one last tailgate fundraiser for the Wisconsin-LSU game this weekend. But pro-tip, Mr. Speaker: it’s probably best to ease up on the sports references this time.