Speaker of the House, anyone? Anyone?
Last week U.S. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Camas, expressed doubt about who could handle the job as the next speaker of the House.
“Whoever the next speaker is — I mean, I don’t even know if Jesus could handle this group at this point, and I have high respect for my Lord,” Herrera Beutler said.
This week, Rep. Paul Ryan, of Wisconsin, after pressure from his party and after giving a list of criteria, announced he would seek to replace Speaker John Boehner.
Ryan wrote an email to his Republican colleagues.
“I never thought I’d be speaker,” Ryan writes, as quoted by The New York Times. “But I pledged to you that if I could be a unifying figure, then I would serve, I would go all in. After talking with so many of you and hearing your words of encouragement, I believe we are ready to move forward as one, united team. And I am ready and eager to be our speaker.”
Now we wait to see if Ryan, is indeed, the savior of the Republican party.
Lauren Dake
Lauren Dake covers politics for The Columbian. You can reach her at 360-735-4534 or lauren.dake@columbian.com. Follow her on Twitter .