Massie won’t back Ryan for speaker

WASHINGTON — Rep. Paul Ryan won over the conservative faction in House Republican conference, and he snapped up the support of the GOP centrists, along with many of those in between as well.

But there is at least one holdout as Ryan rounds up votes for his House speaker bid: Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., who has derided Ryan’s request for weekends off and called the Wisconsin Republican’s demands “unreasonable.”

When Republicans vote for a new speaker next week, Massie told The Enquirer he plans to vote for Ryan’s sole competitor, GOP Rep. Daniel Webster, R-Fla. Webster has promised sweeping reforms of the House rules—changes that would allow renegades like Massie to offer more amendments in committee and on the House floor, among other things.

Massie said that's while Webster wants to “empower” House members, Ryan seems to want to grab more power for himself. He noted that as part of his condition for running for the leadership post, Ryan said he wanted Republicans to weaken or even kill a rule that allows members to force a no-confidence vote on the speaker.

“He said ‘This is a gun and no one should have to work with that gun to their head’,” Massie told The Enquirer, recounting Ryan’s remarks to House Republicans in a closed-door meeting Tuesday night.

Conservatives used that rule—officially called the “motion to vacate”—to nudge House Speaker John Boehner, R-West Chester, into retirement. Boehner is set to relinquish the speaker’s gavel next week.

Ryan, chairman of the Ways and Means Committee and the 2012 Republican nominee for vice president, had previously said he did not want to become speaker. But after mounting pressure from his colleagues, the Wisconsin lawmaker and Miami University graduate told House Republicans on Tuesday he would run if he won the support of all the factions inside the GOP conference.

Ryan also said he would not be willing to travel as much as previous speakers because he needs to be home on weekends with his young children. And he called for changes to the no-confidence vote rule.

Ryan on Thursday appeared to secure enough votes to win the speakership. He won a majority of support from the House Freedom Caucus, a group of about 40 rebellious conservatives, as well as endorsements from the Tuesday Group, a centrist faction, and the Republican Study Committee, another conservative group.

Massie would not be the only one to vote for Webster. But he has been among the most vocal in the band of Republicans opposed to Ryan's elevation.

“His list of demands were so bold, they pass into almost the unreasonable,” the Kentucky lawmaker told CNN on Wednesday.

Massie said that while he sympathized with Ryan’s desire to spend time at home with his young children, his request for weekends off raised questions about his commitment to the leadership job.

“It sounds like he wants to run the place very much like Boehner has run the place,” Massie said. “If he turns out to be different, I’ll be very excited.”