Paul Ryan elected speaker after final tearful speech from Boehner Ryan gets 236 votes, 18 more than necessary to lead the House Former Speaker and current Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi was second with 184 votes Runner-up Republican was Florida congressman Daniel Webster All but three members of the 435-member House cast votes in solemn ceremony as 2012 GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney looked on
By Reuters and J. Taylor Rushing, U.s. Political Reporter, For Dailymail.com
Published: 09:42 EST, 29 October 2015 | Updated: 12:20 EST, 29 October 2015
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The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday installed Republican congressman Paul Ryan as its new speaker, replacing John Boehner following a revolt by conservative lawmakers who forced his early retirement.
Republicans put up 236 House votes to elect Ryan, putting him in charge of legislation that moves through the 435-member chamber and next in line to the U.S. presidency after the vice president.
Former Speaker and current Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California was second with 184 votes, while the runner-up Republican, Daniel Webster of Florida, got 9 votes. Pelosi voted for herself, while neither Ryan nor Webster voted at all.
Tennessee Democrat Jim Cooper also got one vote, as did Georgia Democrat John Lewis and former Secretary of State, retired Gen. Colin Powell.
Ryan's coronation as speaker was swiftly followed by a swearing-in ceremony. His 2012 running mate, GOP presidential nominee and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, was in attendance as a guest of Ryan's.
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Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan was elected speaker at 10:35 a.m. Eastern Time on Thursday
Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan was elected speaker at 10:35 a.m. Eastern Time on Thursday
Mitt Romney, the 2012 GOP presidential nominee and Ryan's running mate that year, sat as guests of Ryan in the House gallery with his wife, Ann
Mitt Romney, the 2012 GOP presidential nominee and Ryan's running mate that year, sat as guests of Ryan in the House gallery with his wife, Ann
Republican Paul Ryan voted House Speaker replacing Boehner
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Ryan, Webster and New York Democrat Gregory Meeks were the only three House members who did not cast a vote.
Ryan was sworn in at the speaker's podium by Dean of the House John Dingell, a Michigan Democrat. A Catholic, he laid his hand on a New American Standard version of the Bible.
In his right hand, Ryan wielded the gavel he has used as chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee - a job he relished.
Indeed, Ryan had said for weeks that he was not interested in succeeding Boehner, who announced his retirement earlier this month.
But after California congressman Kevin McCarthy, the current majority leader, abruptly withdrew his candidacy for the position, Ryan was recruited as a consensus candidate given his name recognition, centrist politics and high regard by colleagues.
Cameras caught McCarthy smiling in the audience on the floor, and he later offered a resolution adjourning the House until noon on Monday.
Ryan's centrist politics nearly cost him the speakership, as the far-right members of the House Freedom Caucus had refused to endorse him officially for the position. That caucus had been largely responsible for forcing Boehner into early retirement.
Still, the caucus gave Ryan a supermajority of its votes, sealing the vote threshold he needed.
The solemn nature of Thursday's occasion was underscored by the rare attendance - almost all of the 435 members sat stiffly in their chairs and called out their votes in a roll call fashion.
Some Democrats left the chamber when Ryan began delivering remarks, which he kicked off by paying tribute to Boehner, who is leaving Congress after 24 years.
'Not many people can match his accomplishments: the offices he held, the laws he wrote,' Ryan said of Boehner. 'But what really sets John apart is he’s a man of character—a true class act. He is, without question, the gentleman from Ohio.'
Retiring House Speaker John Boehner gave one last speech - and had one last cry - on the House floor just before Ryan's election
Retiring House Speaker John Boehner gave one last speech - and had one last cry - on the House floor just before Ryan's election
Boehner, an Ohio congressman, was leaving Capitol Hill after 24 years including the last five as speaker
Boehner, an Ohio congressman, was leaving Capitol Hill after 24 years including the last five as speaker
Ryan was Boehner's hand-picked successor after California congressman Kevin McCarthy withdrew his candidacy for speaker a few weeks ago
Ryan was Boehner's hand-picked successor after California congressman Kevin McCarthy withdrew his candidacy for speaker a few weeks ago
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Outgoing House Speaker John Boehner bids Congress farewell
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Cameras caught Boehner at the back of the chamber, crying and holding a tissue. He also cried during his own farewell speech.
Ryan kicked off his own portion of his remarks by quoting former President Harry Truman on the day he succeeded Franklin Roosevelt upon Roosevelt's death in 1945.
' "If you ever pray, pray for me now," ' Ryan said. 'We should all feel that way. A lot is on our shoulders.'
In a pointed criticism of Boehner's tenure, Ryan vowed to return the House to 'regular order,' a phrase referring to the traditional process by which bills and budgets are considered and passed.
Ryan had often stated his opposition to the landmark budget deal that the House passed only yesterday because it had been forged by Boehner and Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell in secret with the White House, and presented to members without any committee hearings.
'Let’s be frank - the House is broken. We are not solving problems. We are adding to them,' Ryan said.
'And I am not interested in laying blame. We are not settling scores. We are wiping the slate clean. Neither the members nor the people are satisfied with how things are going. We need to make some changes, starting with how the House does business.'
But he also reached out to Democrats, signaling that he would not act divisively during his tenure.
'My friends, you have done me a great honor. The people of this country have done all of us a great honor,' he said.
'Now, let’s prove ourselves worthy of it. Let’s seize the moment. Let’s rise to the occasion. And when we are done, let us say we left the people—all the people—more united, happy, and free.'
Boehner, in his own, 10-minute farewell speech, said he was leaving Congress 'with no regrets, no burdens.'
'If anything, I leave the way I started - just a regular guy humbled by the chance to do a big job. That's what I'm most proud of. I'm still just me.'
Boehner went on to thank his Republican colleagues for his 2011 election as speaker but also paid tribute to Democratic leaders by name as well.
Boehner, who teared up often during speeches and ceremonies, did so again on Thursday but made light of it before his farewell speech
Boehner, who teared up often during speeches and ceremonies, did so again on Thursday but made light of it before his farewell speech
Boehner presided over a tumultuous time in the House, particularly after a wave of tea party-aligned conservatives were elected in 2012 and 2014
Boehner presided over a tumultuous time in the House, particularly after a wave of tea party-aligned conservatives were elected in 2012 and 2014
In the only, indirect reference to the tumult that marked his tenure over the past several years, as far-right conservatives demanded immediate changes and gradually pushed him out of office, Boehner said he quickly learned in Congress that battles over the size and scope of government were as old as the United States itself.
'Real change takes time,' he said. 'Yes, freedom makes all things possible, but patience is what makes all things real.'
Across Capitol Hill, Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada - whom Boehner had famously cursed in private on multiple occasions - issued a statement praising Ryan but warning that Democrats still control enough seats in Congress's upper chamber to force compromises.
'Make no mistake – my Democratic colleagues and I will continue to have deep policy differences with Speaker Ryan on the vast majority of issues,' Reid said, going to list examples such as protecting Social Security and Medicare.
'Paul Ryan has at times shown a willingness to work across the aisle to get things done. He has at times proven himself to be a reasonable negotiating partner. But I’m troubled by reports that he has already made significant concessions to the most extreme House Republicans to win their support.'
'More than ever, House Republicans need a leader empowered to compromise with Democrats in order to reach bipartisan agreements that benefit the American people. I hope Speaker Ryan will be that leader.'
McConnell, Boehner's legislative partner in Congress for the past five years, paid tribute in a floor speech for putting 'country and institution above self,' especially in years in which Republicans see-sawed between being in power in Washington and not.
'John Boehner has wandered the valley. John Boehner has been to the mountaintop. John Boehner has slid right back into the valley, and then ascended to great heights yet again,' McConnell said.
'He does it all with hard work. He does it with an earnestness and an honesty I’ve always admired... He says the code he lives by is a simple one: do the right things for the right reasons, and the right things will happen.'
“I’ve always found that to be true. I’ve found it to be true in our battles fighting side-by-side for conservative reform, sometimes from a position deep in the minority.'
'We had our share of Maalox moments, that’s for sure. But he always strove to push forward
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OMG, good riddance to that blubbering idiot. If any women cried as much as Low T Boner did, they would be run out of town for not being strong enough or not showing leadership.
"Former Speaker and current Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California was second with 184 votes, while the runner-up Republican, Daniel Webster of Florida, got 9 votes. Pelosi voted for herself, while neither Ryan nor Webster voted at all."
PROOF that 184 Democratic representatives are flippin' morons.
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LawyerLady
I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you.
I just now seen his goodbye speech. I think he did fine and he showed some emotions. It wasn't a crybaby tears and a very touching and honest farewell.
I think there is something real going on with him. Something causing his emotional eruptions.
I also think Hilary has something health related going on too.
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A flock of flirting flamingos is pure, passionate, pink pandemonium-a frenetic flamingle-mangle-a discordant discotheque of delirious dancing, flamboyant feathers, and flamingo lingo.
