House Speaker Paul Ryan is vacating his post. He’ll officially retire from Congress in January when his term expires.
“What I realize is if I am here for one more term, my kids will only have ever known me as a weekend dad. I just can’t let that happen,” said Ryan.
Political pundits saw this coming a long time ago. Ryan doesn’t fit well with the Trump administration. He’s an old-school Republican that jars with President Trump.
Of course, Democrats are interpreting Ryan’s decision as a sign that Republicans won’t do well in the upcoming elections
“I think it says volumes to the concern they probably have to retaining the House of Representatives,” said Rep. Joseph Crowley. “I think it’s a good sign for Democrats.”
Crowley’s theory is that Ryan recoiled against the possibility of being downgraded to minority leader.
“It is a big indicator that the speaker doesn’t think he’d be speaker anymore,” ex-New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said. “If you’re a betting person, you’re betting on the Democrats for the House in the fall.”
Democrats need to steal 23 seats if they want to gain control of the House. The Republicans have been ruling the chamber since 2011. It wouldn’t be surprising if Democrats wrested power away from them, their voter base is angry and motivated while the Republican party is fractured. Voters love President Trump while conservative politicians are still clinging to old ideas.
“Democrats were the favorite to win before Ryan’s retirement,” said Dave Wasserman, House editor of the Cook Political Report.
“Now they might be closer to a 70 percent chance (to take back the House) than 60 percent… We now rate 80 of the 240 Republican seats as less than solid. That’s compared to just 16 Democratic seats.”
Republicans are already fighting among themselves for Ryan’s place.
(Source: New York Post)