The House Freedom Caucus ensured that Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) would have the support to secure the position of Speaker of the House next week following a vote on Wednesday night.
However, while Ryan did receive two-thirds of the vote, he did not receive the 80 percent required for an endorsement, and the group stated that it would not accept all of his terms for Speaker.
After the meeting, Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-SC) said, “We are not meeting all his demands, but if he wants to be speaker, he has the votes as of tonight.”
Rep. Raul Labrador (R-ID) shared a similar sentiment, regarding the group’s support for Paul. “We are sending the message to the conference and Paul Ryan that he has our support, but that we will continue to ask for the changes that we are asking for,” he said.
Following the vote, Ryan posted a statement on this Twitter, thanking the House Freedom Caucus for its support:
https://twitter.com/PRyan/status/657000539385909248
Paul’s run for Speaker of the House comes after Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) announced that he was stepping down, and Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), the assumed replacement, dropped out of the race.
TIME noted that Ryan has given five main conditions to run for Speaker of the House, including that the Speaker should be a visionary who communicates the party agenda; the speaker will only concede to rules changes if the entire conference agrees; there will be no motions to vacate the chair; he must have free time to spend with his family; and everyone in the conference must vote for him.
Ryan’s condition for “family time” has drawn criticism due to the fact that during his time as a representative, Ryan has opposed nearly every federal policy on paid family leave.
Editor's note: This article, written by Rachel Blevins, originally published on Truth in Media on October 22, 2015, and has been modified slightly for publication on IVN.
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