Ryan endorses California rep McCarthy as successor

WASHINGTON — House Speaker Paul Ryan’s endorsement of Kevin McCarthy as his successor increases the California representative’s chances of leading House Republicans come November, but it may not seal the deal.

“We all think that Kevin is the right person” to become speaker, Ryan told NBC’s “Meet the Press” anchor Chuck Todd in a segment that airs Sunday but was made public Friday. “I think Kevin’s the right guy to step up.”

Ryan’s retirement announcement Wednesday threw the fractious House Republican conference into uncertainty, and his intent to hold onto the gavel until after the November election set up a seven-month race to replace him.

McCarthy is the secondranked Republican official in the House, making him a logical replacement for Ryan, especially as his chief rival for the speakership, Republican House Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., repeatedly said this week that he “wouldn’t run” against McCarthy for the job.

But Ryan’s endorsement doesn’t mean that the race to replace him is over. In 1775 In 1828 In 1865 President Abraham Lincoln was shot and mortally wounded by John Wilkes

McCarthy and Scalise have been quietly shoring up support for months, and if Republicans lose control of the House, the race for minority leader is different.

Despite Ryan’s assertion that Scalise agrees that McCarthy is the best pick to be the next speaker, Scalise didn’t pull his name from consideration.

McCarthy’s spokesman did not return a request for comment Friday.

In a signal of conservative disgruntlement, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, said Friday he’s “open to running” for the top job. Jordan is a leader of the hard-right House Freedom Caucus.

His candidacy seems certain to fall short and is viewed as a bid to make conservatives

James Cash Penney opened his first store, called “The Golden Rule,” in Kemmerer, Wyo. the kingmakers in the race, perhaps in exchange for other leadership posts.

McCarthy initially sought the speakership in 2015 when then-Speaker John Boehner resigned.

A publicized gaffe and rumblings from the conservative House Freedom Caucus that he wasn’t conservative enough led McCarthy to withdraw his bid.

Trump and McCarthy have “a great relationship,” but the president is not making an endorsement right now, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Friday.

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J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE/AP Kevin McCarthy, left, eyed the speakership in 2015, but Paul Ryan got the gavel.