Freedom Caucus Contemplates Ousting Paul Ryan as Speaker of the House

How many times has Paul Ryan betrayed conservatives over the past few years?

There was a brief moment of hope when he replaced John Boehner as Speaker of the House. But that hope was squashed by Ryan himself. Maybe we should’ve been suspicious that former Democrat Majority Leader Harry Reid supported him for Speaker – because it wasn’t long before he betrayed Republican voters by passing a $1.1 trillion omnibus bill at the end of 2015, granting funding for DACA, sanctuary cities, refugee programs, and much, much more!

It’s becoming clear that Ryan is an obstacle to the Trump agenda. He’s urged Trump not to eliminate DACA, threw cold water on Trump’s threat to shut down the government if his border wall isn’t funded, and most recently, signaled that the corporate tax won’t be reduced to the 15 percent Trump desires.

Why, when Republicans control both houses of Congress, is Ryan busy pandering to and cutting deals with Democrats? Perhaps because he’s one of them, which is why the Republicans who stand with Trump are planning a coup.

According to the Washington Post, “several influential House conservatives are privately plotting ways to use the legislative calendar this fall to push their hard-line agenda — including quiet discussions about possibly mounting a leadership challenge to House Speaker Paul D. Ryan. The group has gone so far as to float the idea of recruiting former House speaker Newt Gingrich or former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum as potential replacements for Ryan (R-Wis.) should there be a rebellion. The Constitution does not require that an elected member of the House serve as speaker.”

These conversations are being led by North Carolina Rep. Mark Meadows, who is the chairman of the House Freedom Caucus. Among those he’s in conversation with about removing Ryan include Steve Bannon, the former White House Chief Strategist who has since returned to his position as executive chairman of Breitbart News.

The Post continues, reporting that “on Wednesday, Meadows, Jordan and Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) took their concerns directly to Ryan, telling him in a private meeting in the Capitol that his failure to enact conservative priorities could diminish his support among conservatives.“

While the Post does note that “the group of more than 30 conservative House lawmakers is unlikely to stage a successful coup,” don’t forget that it was the House Freedom Caucus that succeeded in dethroning John Boehner.

Trump supporters on Twitter supported the idea of ousting Ryan:

Newt Gingrich has poured a bucket of cold water on the idea of taking the speakership away from Ryan:

What do you think? Should Paul Ryan remain Speaker of the House? Should he go? Tell us your thoughts below, and share this story on Facebook and Twitter!