Paul Ryan's political future in the hands of his GOP colleagues; Freedom Caucus plans vote

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan spent Wednesday meeting with fellow Republicans, many who remain skeptical of the conditions the Janesville congressman says must be met before he'll run for the House speakership.

Reports indicated that the House Freedom Caucus, a group of about 40 very conservative lawmakers, could vote Wednesday night whether to endorse Ryan. Without their support, Ryan's aides signaled that he would not seek the speaker's office.

Ryan's message was clear: If the three major factions of House GOP lawmakers didn't support him, he would back away from a job he doesn't want. If they endorse him with his conditions, Ryan could become speaker on his own terms.

"Every Republican speaker since the '90s has been forced out," said U.S. Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, R-Menomonee Falls. "Paul does not want this to be the end of his political career, and he’s going to have to have some assurances by the various groups of Republican representatives that they’re not going to take him out by the knees."

Ryan is asking that the three groups endorse him by Friday, seeking near-unanimous support from his colleagues. He also wants lawmakers to get rid of a House rule know as "vacating the chair," a move that would make it harder to overthrow the next speaker.

U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman said members were "drilling" Ryan with questions about his requests, which Grothman called "entirely reasonable."

"I think Congressman Ryan will do this job, as long as he doesn’t step into a situation in which he has a lot of rebellious members who want to depose him immediately," Grothman said.

Sensenbrenner agreed, calling Ryan's concerns "legitimate."

The Freedom Caucus, which forced Speaker John Boehner out, wasn't sold on Ryan.

"The only concern that I have right now is that it appears that he's asking for more power to be in the speaker's office instead of less power," said U.S. Rep. Raul Labrador, R-Idaho.

Charles Franklin, Marquette Law School poll director says Ryan has given the Freedom Caucus control: Either accept him, or he won't take a job he doesn't want.

"I think it's a win for him either way," Franklin said. "The downside is, he’s given a veto card to the very group of House Republicans least likely to accept him. So, if they veto him, it puts the onus on them, but it’ll mean the speaker battle remains unresolved."

Sensenbrenner cautioned his colleagues that they had few alternatives.

"Our conference is in a world of hurt now and it’s going to be in a bigger world of hurt," he said. "We’re digging ourselves a hole and, I can tell you, even my dog is smart enough not to dig a hole so deep he can’t crawl out of it."