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House Republicans Unanimously Nominate Paul Ryan to Stay as Speaker

House Speaker Paul Ryan / AP
November 15, 2016

Speaker Paul Ryan (R., Wis.) on Tuesday afternoon was unanimously nominated by his House Republican colleagues to continue on as speaker next year.

Ryan did not face any organized opposition during the closed-door Republican conference meeting.

He will now face a floor vote in January in front of all 435 members of the House. If more than two dozen Republican members oppose Ryan, his election could be in doubt, the Washington Post reported.

Several Republicans made clear this week that although [Donald] Trump's victory may have eased the internal party tensions that threatened Ryan's speakership before the election, it has not eliminated them entirely.

"I haven't heard from him what he wants to change–what's going to be different the next two years than the last two years?" said Rep. Raúl R. Labrador (R-Idaho), a cofounder of the hard-line House Freedom Caucus. "So far, I'm not hearing anything about changing the way we do business here in Washington, so I'm not ready to support him yet."

Labrador is in a clear minority among House Republicans–Ryan (R-Wis.) enjoys broad support among the GOP rank-and-file–but his qualms reflect ongoing discomfort over how Ryan's brand of Republican politics will meld with Trump's. He was among a handful of members who said Tuesday they would still consider opposing Ryan then.

In a show of party unity, Ryan was nominated by members from three different wings of the House GOP caucus. Rep. Chris Collins (N.Y.), the first House Republican to endorse Trump; Rep. Martha McSally (Ariz.), a member of the moderate Tuesday Group; and Rep. Mick Mulvaney (S.C.), a founder of the House Freedom Caucus, all placed Ryan's name into nomination for speaker.

Other current members of the House GOP leadership team were nominated again to serve in their same roles for the 115th Congress, which will begin in January, the Washington Post noted.

Beyond Ryan, other senior members of House leadership are expected to stay. Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (Calif.), Majority Whip Steve Scalise (La.), Conference Chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (Wash.), and Policy Committee Chairman Luke Messer (Ind.) are all running unopposed.

There is, however, a fierce battle for the chairmanship of the National Republican Congressional Committee–the party's campaign arm–between Rep. Steve Stivers (Ohio) and Rep. Roger Williams (Tex.). And two junior leadership positions are set to be filled with new faces Tuesday after Conference Vice Chairman Lynn Jenkins (Kan.) and Conference Secretary Virginia Foxx (N.C.) declined to seek reelection to those posts.

Reps. Douglas A. Collins (Ga.) and Bill Flores (Tex.) are vying for the vice chairmanship, while Rep. Jason T. Smith (Mo.) is the only declared candidate for the secretary's post.

House Democrats decided on Tuesday to delay their leadership elections until after Thanksgiving. Some members of the Democratic caucus have expressed ill will towards the current leadership after the poor showing by Democrats up and down the ballot in last week's elections.