Ryan elected House speaker
WASHINGTON — Rep. Paul Ryan was overwhelmingly elected House speaker by fellow Republicans Thursday, closing a bitter and protracted leadership battle but not fully resolving the internal divisions that have upended the GOP majority.
After the vote, the Wisconsin congressman and 2012 GOP vice presidential nominee offered a tough-love outlook for the road ahead.
“Let’s be frank: the House is broken,” Ryan told his colleagues. “We are not solving problems. We are adding to them. And I am not interested in laying blame. We are not settling scores. We are wiping the slate clean.”
The vote came more than a month after Speaker John Boehner abruptly announced he would resign rather than continue fighting his conservative flank.
That same hard-right faction doomed the candidacy of Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California, who dropped out of the race for the post.
Ryan is the 54th House speaker and, at 45, the youngest since 1869, in the aftermath of the Civil War.
Ryan won the gavel with a convincing 236 votes from his GOP colleagues. Nine Republicans cast votes for a rival.
In a nod to his detractors, Ryan promised to allow rank-and-file lawmakers a greater role in shaping legislation, a key demand of the conservative wing.
“If there were ever a time for us to step up, this would be that time,” Ryan said. “The cynics will scoff and say it’s not possible. But you better believe we are going to try. We will not duck the tough issues.”
Ryan is known for the “Ryan budget,” an austerity blueprint that has guided GOP thinking, as well as for his grueling P90X workouts and preference for hard rock music.
Before passing the gavel, Boehner advised his successor of the challenges he will likely face leading the largest Republican majority in decades.
“This is the loneliest place in the world, almost as lonely as the presidency,” Boehner said during an exit interview.
