Key Quotes:
- The doubts have been fueled by a series of high-profile embarrassments for the Wisconsin Republican.
- “The conference is in open warfare. Paul has run out of juice,” said a senior Republican lawmaker
- …McCarthy currently wouldn’t have 218 votes to be speaker — mainly because he hasn’t yet cut a deal with Freedom Caucus members for their votes.
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Ryan facing growing doubts about hold on speakership
Politico
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/05/21/ryan-republicans-house-speaker-601900
Top House Republicans are privately questioning whether retiring Speaker Paul Ryan can make it through Election Day.
No one’s plotting to take him out at this point, and Ryan insists he’s not going anywhere. But rank-and-file Republicans, including moderates who’ve been unflinchingly loyal to Ryan during his three-year tenure, have become increasingly willing to defy the lame-duck leader. And White House officials have also discussed whether Ryan should remain in the job, administration sources said, though there is no effort by the Trump White House to push out Ryan.
The doubts have been fueled by a series of high-profile embarrassments for the Wisconsin Republican. The most recent was the collapse of the Republican farm bill Friday on the House floor. But centrist Republicans have also backed Ryan into a corner on immigration, the most contentious issue facing the party. And this week, those moderates are expected to reach the 218-vote threshold needed to force bipartisan votes to protect Dreamers — despite Ryan’s effort to stop them.
“The conference is in open warfare. Paul has run out of juice,” said a senior Republican lawmaker who wants a speaker vote to happen soon and requested anonymity to speak frankly. “It became clear on Friday that it’s time to let go.”
[…] Ryan allies argue that pushing him out wouldn’t solve the GOP’s internal problems. Plus, Republicans from all camps agree that McCarthy currently wouldn’t have 218 votes to be speaker — mainly because he hasn’t yet cut a deal with Freedom Caucus members for their votes.
“Speaker Ryan has said he intends to run through the tape and that has not changed,” said spokeswoman AshLee Strong.
But it’s unclear how long that argument will keep Ryan skeptics at bay.
[…] Still, some Republicans feel strongly that Ryan is losing his grip on the conference. The farm bill exposed that, they argue, because normally reliable Republicans opposed the bill despite Ryan personally lobbying for their support. Those members included Reps. Fred Upton and Rodney Frelinghuysen.
Another recent episode provided more evidence of Ryan’s waning power. During a private meeting with top Republicans last week, Ryan backed Republican Study Committee Chairman Mark Walker (R-N.C.) to fill a vacancy on the powerful Ways and Means Committee. Republicans typically heed Ryan’s preferences for such openings, but in this case the committee went against the speaker and backed Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio) instead.
Meanwhile, the White House has grown frustrated with the lack of movement on Trump’s proposal to cut spending — and some blame Ryan for the slowdown. It was Ryan who insisted several weeks ago that the so-called rescissions package be modified, siding with GOP appropriators who were concerned that revisiting a deal they had reached months earlier with Democrats and that Trump had signed would set a bad precedent.
[…] Asked whether stories about GOP infighting would hurt Republicans’ fundraising ability, Stivers allowed that “it might” but then argued he didn’t think so.
“People are still supporting him because it’s not about one person; it’s about what our House majority means and he’s able to articulate that very well,” Stivers said. “So I don’t think it’s going to be a problem. We keep watching it, but he’s continuing to do very very well.”
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