Hannity Takes Quiet Jab at Ryan, Reveals His Long-Shot Candidate for Speaker
When Speaker of the House Paul Ryan announced earlier this year that he would not be seeking re-election, House Republicans began scrambling to determine who would succeed him as speaker, presuming the GOP maintains control of the House after the 2018 midterm elections.
One candidate who has thrown his hat in the ring is Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, a staunchly conservative member of the House Freedom Caucus who supports President Donald Trump and has been a thorn in the side of the establishment wing of the Republican Party.
Jordan joined Fox News host Sean Hannity on his program Friday night to discuss a number of topics, and appeared to receive an endorsement for his bid to become speaker from the highly-rated Fox host, according to Politico.
Hannity not only expressed his support for Jordan’s effort, but also seemed to take a subtle jab at Ryan by noting that campaign promises made by House Republicans in recent years have not been kept, nor has the House moved in a decidedly conservative direction, as had also been promised.
“If you become the speaker — and look, I will support you for speaker, because I think the Freedom Caucus has been the most committed to fighting to keep their promises and literally the single biggest group fighting to defend the things that are conservative in the country and have helped the president the most,” Hannity said.
Jordan has indeed proven himself to be incredibly supportive of the president and his agenda to Make America Great Again, and has worked doggedly in his roles on the House Judiciary Committee and House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform to investigate and root out bureaucratic “deep state” abuse and fraud against both Trump and the American people.
Though Jordan is considered to be a long shot candidate for the speakership, the endorsement from Hannity could help close the gap between him and the more likely candidates to succeed Ryan.
According to a Washington Examiner article in April that looked at the top contenders to replace Ryan, Jordan was ranked in a distant third place and labeled as “not likely” to be the next speaker.
His chances are rated as slim because of his status as a Washington outsider who is disruptive of the status quo favored by the moderate establishment, and he may have trouble garnering support for his bid from some of the rank-and-file Republicans who prefer that status quo.
The Examiner article placed California Rep. Kevin McCarthy — currently the House majority leader and Ryan’s hand-picked successor — as the most likely candidate to be the next speaker, again presuming Republicans hold on to their majority in the House after the midterm elections.
McCarthy has served as Majority Leader and Ryan’s right-hand since 2014 and is a prolific fundraiser — a key component of being speaker — and is said to have forged close relationships with many of the rank-and-file members, as well as the president.
However, McCarthy failed in his initial bid for the speakership in 2015 to replace ousted speaker John Boehner and could be viewed as too close to Ryan, which might detract from his chances if the House decides to go a different direction.
The next most likely candidate after McCarthy is House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, who is beloved by nearly all Republicans — particularly since he survived being shot by a deranged leftist at a congressional baseball practice in 2017 — and once chaired the largest conservative faction within the House, the Republican Study Committee.
However, Scalise has signaled that he would defer to McCarthy’s bid and would likely only throw his hat in the ring if McCarthy comes up short or withdraws from consideration. Scalise is also a proficient fundraiser and has forged relationships with both moderate GOP members and the House Freedom Caucus.
Regardless of who may be the next speaker, and with months to go before he relinquishes the position, Ryan is almost a forgotten man already, as evidenced by all of the early speculation about who will replace him, not to mention his relative silence on a number of issues in recent weeks and months.
Slim though his chances may be — at least according to the “experts” and punditry –Jordan would make an excellent speaker of the House, one who would move Congress in a more conservative direction and would solidly back Trump as he works to further implement his agenda of making America a more prosperous and safer nation.
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