Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, who for years has resisted a move into House Republican leadership, said Tuesday night he would serve as House speaker if he is the party's "unity candidate."

Ryan, the Ways and Means Committee chairman, wants to know by Friday if the 247 members of the House Republican Conference support him. If not, he is "happy" to continue as chairman of the powerful tax-writing panel, the 45-year-old lawmaker said.


The Wisconsin Republican laid out a series of "requests" to his GOP colleagues on Tuesday night, including a demand that the major factions within the Republican Conference endorse him before he agrees to seek the speakership. Ryan is clearly trying to shift the onus of his decision onto the House Freedom Caucus, a group of hard-line conservatives that repeatedly sought to undermine Speaker John Boehner.

Ryan wants the group to refrain from any attempts to remove him from the speaker's chair if he makes a decision it disagrees with, though it's not at all clear the Freedom Caucus will agree.

"I have shown my colleagues what I think success looks like, what I think it takes to unify and lead, and how my family commitments come first," Ryan told reporters Tuesday night. "I have left this decision in their hands, and should they agree with these requests, then I am happy and I am willing to get to work."

Ryan added: "This is not a job I ever wanted or I ever sought. I am in the job I've always wanted here in the Congress. I came to the conclusion that this is a very dire moment, not just for Congress, not just for the Republican Party, but for our country. I think our country is in desperate need of leadership."

Ryan described himself as "reluctant" to be speaker and said there were some parts of the job he dreaded. But he said he would take on the post if the three major groups inside the GOP conference — the Republican Study Committee, the moderate Tuesday Group, and the Freedom Caucus — all endorse him by Friday.

"Let me close by saying that I considered to do this with reluctance, and I mean that in the most personal of ways," Ryan said. Ryan has three young children, and the former GOP vice presidential nominee said he will be "genuinely worry about the consequences of my serving [as speaker] will have on them. Will they face the viciousness and incivility that we all face here on a daily basis?"

Yet Ryan also said that passing on the chance to become speaker would be a potentially irreparable mistake for him and his family.

"My biggest worry is the consequence of not stepping up, of having my own kids ask me, 'When the stakes were so high, why didn't you do all that you could do? Why didn't you stand and fight for my future when you had a chance to do so?'" Ryan added. "None of us wants to hear that question. And none of us should."

Ryan's announcement ended 10 days of frantic speculation inside the House over his future plans, while simultaneously freezing out all the other potential speaker hopefuls. Several of them already announced they were ending any hope of becoming Boehner's replacement and backing Ryan.

During a meeting of House Republicans on Tuesday evening, Boehner (R-Ohio), who counted Ryan as a volunteer on his 1990 congressional campaign, ceded the floor to Ryan. The 16-year veteran of Congress explained that his openness to serving as House speaker comes with serious caveats.

Ryan said during the closed-door gathering that he wants support from all the major Republican caucuses.

Ryan also wants Republicans to alter the procedure for "vacating the chair," which is essentially a referendum to remove the speaker from office. Conservatives threatened to force such a vote against Boehner earlier this summer, and Ryan believes it's destructive.

The Wisconsin Republican is calling on the next speaker to be more visionary. Ryan agreed with Freedom Caucus members and a large bloc of the GOP in supporting changes to rules and procedures to empower rank-and-file members. But he said those decisions must be made together. Ryan also told his colleagues that he needs to be at home in Janesville, Wisconsin, with his family, so fundraising cannot be all-consuming.

"I don't know of anyone better to do it," said Rep. Jason Chaffetz of Utah, who dropped his long-shot bid for the speakership when Ryan announced. "I think he wants to get as unified a group as possible, so that's obviously a big question. He wanted to talk to all the various caucuses and groups ... and I'm excited. He would be wonderful, fantastic as a speaker. I think the smart path for us is to unify behind Paul Ryan."

"The man and the moment have met, and I think we're going to have a great new speaker," added Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), who some Republicans had pushed as speaker. "He's so clearly the best choice that I think he will get there. Members have to look inside themselves and make a decision."

Boehner resigned late last month and is set to leave Congress on Oct. 30, though he's agreed to stay on until a new speaker is chosen. He is expected on Wednesday to reveal the dates of the internal GOP vote for speaker, and even more important, the date for a floor vote.

Ryan's move could put major pressure on the Freedom Caucus, which had endorsed Rep. Daniel Webster (R-Fla.) before House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) dropped his bid to succeed Boehner. Members of the Republican Study Committee and Tuesday Group have already showered praise on Ryan, but members of the Freedom Caucus aren't quite ready yet to endorse him.

Ryan met with four of the group's leaders Tuesday: Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, South Carolina Rep. Mick Mulvaney, Idaho Rep. Raúl Labrador and North Carolina Rep. Mark Meadows.



Rep. Matt Salmon (R-Ariz.), a founding member of the Freedom Caucus, said Ryan made "some very reasonable observations about how anybody would need the support of the entire conference if they are going to be a successful speaker."

The Freedom Caucus is not ready to support Ryan yet, Salmon added, but he is "certainly open."

"All things are possible," Salmon said. "I think the issue of process reforms are going to have to be addressed one way or another before the Freedom Caucus wholesale jumps in bed with him."

