Pressure mounted on former vice-presidential candidate Paul Ryan to run for House speaker Friday as Republicans scrambled to restore order to their divided ranks, shaken by Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy's astonishing decision to abandon his campaign for the powerful post.
McCarthy's surprise announcement was the latest consequence of the Republican Party's bitter divide between moderates and outspoken, right-wing members who favour a more uncompromising approach toward President Barack Obama's policies. Although Republicans control both the House and Senate, the infighting has hampered their ability to capitalize on their congressional power.
Republican lawmakers met Friday to discuss their next move, but lawmakers said nothing was decided at the gathering.
Departing House Speaker John Boehner and McCarthy were pressing Ryan to seek the job. The House speaker is one of the most powerful figures in Washington, second in the line of succession to the president.
"I've talked with Paul Ryan. He's talking to people. I think he'd make a great speaker," McCarthy said as he entered the closed-door meeting. "It's a big decision. He's got to talk to his wife and everybody else, and it's got to be his decision."
Ryan has insisted that he's not interested in the post, preferring to focus on his chairmanship of the Ways and Means Committee. But the 45-year-old Wisconsin lawmaker did not reject the idea outright when he entered Friday's conference. "I have nothing new to say," Ryan said.
Later, spokesman Brendan Buck issued a statement saying: "Chairman Ryan appreciates the support he's getting from his colleagues but is still not running for speaker."
The tumult was escalating as Congress hurtled toward showdowns with Obama over spending and borrowing. If not resolved, those face-offs could result in a partial government shutdown or an unprecedented federal default — two scenarios that some Republican leaders believe would severely wound Republican prospects in next year's presidential and congressional elections.
The House No. 3 Republican leader, Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana, also said he'd like to see Ryan as the next speaker.
Even Rep. Jason Chaffetz of Utah, himself a candidate for the speaker's post, said he'd back Ryan should he seek the job, adding, "I would hope that he would do it."
Added Rep. Lynn Westmoreland, of Georgia, himself a potential contender for the job: "I think he's the only guy who can unite us right now."
Any presidential aspirations Ryan might have could be undercut by holding the chamber's top job and managing its unruly caucus. Being speaker also calls for multiple days on the road raising money for the Republican Party, a challenge for a lawmaker like Ryan with a young family back home.
On Thursday, Republicans munching barbecue at a closed-door meeting where they seemed ready to coronate McCarthy as their candidate for speaker were aghast when the Californian rose and told them he wouldn't seek the job.
Facing opposition from a band of hard-right conservatives, some McCarthy supporters said he concluded he would have fallen short of the 218 votes needed when the full House formally elects the speaker. Others said he could have won but Republican lawmakers backing him would have infuriated conservative constituents back home, jeopardizing their own careers.
"It was only going to get worse," McCarthy said in an interview published Thursday night by The Wall Street Journal. He added, "This was for the good of the team."
McCarthy had been strongly opposed by a band of 30 to 40 conservatives called the House Freedom Caucus. They consider him too close to Boehner, whose leadership team had punished some conservatives by removing them from committees.
Boehner delivered his own shocker on Sept. 25 when he said he would retire from Congress Oct. 30. He said he would remain in his job until a new speaker was installed, an ironic consequence considering conservatives' desire to shove him out the door. That election was set for Oct. 29, but its date is now uncertain.
Attempting to calm the waters, 19 Republicans including several committee chairs wrote Republican lawmakers that they shouldn't pick a speaker until agreeing on "a shared set of goals and governing vision that benefits the nation and our constituents."
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Eds: Corrects Westmoreland's home state to Georgia, not Florida.
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Erica Werner, Andrew Taylor, Mary Clare Jalonick and Matt Daly contributed to this report.
This content appears as provided to The Globe by the originating wire service. It has not been edited by Globe staff.