Speaker Of The House Of Cards

As the GOP pursues tax reform and spending cuts, divisions within the party threaten its ambitious agenda— and Paul Ryan’s power.

- Emily Cadei

PAUL RYAN was fresh off one of the most humbling defeats of his career. It was days after the collapse of his party’s seven-year quest to repeal Obamacare, and Ryan, the speaker of the House, was set to appear at a Republican caucus meeting in Washington, D.C. The blame game had already begun, with anonymous White House sources sniping at Congress and conservative commentators publicly calling for Ryan to step down. But instead of recriminations, members gave their speaker a standing ovation as they convened on March 28, says Texas Representative Randy Weber. “I actually texted him...when I heard of people calling for him to step down,” says Weber. “And I said, ‘Paul, don’t even think about it.’”

Even President Donald Trump, who had a famously fractious relationship with Ryan during the 2016 campaign, voiced his support for the speaker in the wake of the decision to cancel a House vote on the health care bill. (Trump did, however, punch out a cryptic tweet, which seemed to align the president with a Fox News host’s call to oust the speaker, though the White House denies that was the intent.)