It’s done: Paul Ryan is the new Speaker of the House:
Ryan secured 236 votes for Speaker—far more than the 218 required to win on the first vote. Ryan’s only challenger, Rep. Daniel Webster (R-Fla.), was easily defeated during an internal vote on Wednesday, but managed to field nine nods from his colleagues during the official floor vote.
It was far from an insurrection; but still, here are the 9 who stood up against Ryan’s election:
Dave Brat (Va.)
Curt Clawson (Fla.)
Louie Gohmert (Texas)
Paul Gosar (Ariz.)
Walter Jones (N.C.)
Thomas Massie (Ky.)
Bill Posey (Fla.)
Randy Weber (Texas)
Ted Yoho (Fla.)
During his acceptance speech, Ryan acknowledged that, as far as productivity is concerned, he had just inherited a sinking ship.
More via Fox News:
As he took the gavel after easily winning election on the floor, the Wisconsin congressman declared “the House is broken” and called for a fresh start. “We’re not solving problems, we’re adding to them,” Ryan said, declaring that going forward: “We are not settling scores. We are wiping the slate clean.” …Ryan, though, vowed to do his best to take “the tough issues … head on.” Lamenting that Americans see “chaos” in Washington, he rattled off a to-do list that includes fixing the tax code, growing the economy and paying down the debt. He also called for a more transparent legislative process. More broadly, he urged both parties to figure out how to work together. “If you ever pray, let’s pray for each other — Republicans for Democrats, and Democrats for Republicans.” He joked, “And I don’t mean pray for a conversion. … Pray for a deeper understanding.” “We are all in the same boat,” Ryan said.
Almost immediately, Ryan changed his Facebook and Twitter profiles to reflect the change, and flooded his accounts with new, Speaker-themed content:
We even got a little blast from the past:
I think most commentators are right when they say that Ryan is the right man for the job, right now. I have no doubt, though, that Ryan’s first challenge will be to rebuild the trust that has been lost both between members of his caucus, and between the American people and the institution in which Washington continually begs us to place our faith.
That task, I fear, will be much more difficult than reconciling a budget.
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