Flashback: Hastert hesitated on becoming Speaker of the House

Dennis Hastert hesitated when Republicans asked him to become Speaker in December 1998, according to his memoir.

The Illinois Republican, who is coming under intense scrutiny following his indictment Thursday in connection to alleged hush money payments, recalled his reservations about taking the gavel in his book, Speaker: Lessons from Forty Years in Coaching and Politics.

“At that point, I needed some time by myself,” Hastert wrote about being asked to become Speaker.

{mosads}“I stepped into Room H-219 in the Capitol, and they left me alone for a while,” he said. “I looked up and asked, ‘Why me, Lord?’ ”

New York Times reporter Peter Baker recalled Hastert’s moment of doubt in his book, The Breach: Inside the Impeachment and Trial of William Jefferson Clinton.

“The real hesitation, it seemed, was in Hastert himself,” Baker wrote.

“Retreating to a side room off the floor, Hastert prayed alone for about fifteen minutes.”

“Finally, he emerged to tell DeLay and Paxon that he would do it,” Baker added, referring to then-House Majority Whip Tom DeLay (Texas) and GOP leadership chairman Bill Paxon (N.Y.).

Baker’s account said Hastert told DeLay and Paxon “his wife did not want him to run” for Speaker, but when the men called Jean Hastert, they found she “was in fact supportive” of him taking the job.

In his memoir, Hastert recalled Jean Hastert expressing measured enthusiasm about the role.

“You’ve got to do what you think is right,’” he recalled his wife as saying.

Hastert served as the House’s 59th Speaker from 1999 up until his resignation in 2007.

The role became the capstone of Hastert’s career in Congress, which began in 1987.

Republicans turned to Hastert, then the deputy whip, to steady the ship following a disastrous midterm elections that saw the GOP lose House seats despite the Monica Lewinsky scandal swirling around President Clinton. The losses contributed to Newt Gingrich’s (R-Ga.) decision to step down as Speaker.

After Gingrich’s resignation, Rep. Bob Livingstone (R-La.) became the Speaker-designate, but he abruptly resigned from Congress in December 1998 after admitting to extra-marital affairs. Livingstone resigned on the same day that the House voted to impeach Clinton.

Republicans then turned to Hastert, who went on to hold the Speakership for most of the George W. Bush presidency and formally resigned from Congress on Nov. 26, 2007.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) indicted Hastert Thursday on charges of lying to the FBI and evading bank reporting requirements.

Hastert is accused of lying to the FBI about his bank activities, which allegedly started with an agreement in 2010 to pay at least $3.5 million to an individual to “conceal” unspecified “past misconduct.”

The alleged misconduct, which is not detailed in the documents, happened years before the agreement, according to the indictment. Hastert knew the person, a resident of Yorkville, Ill., for most of his or her life, documents say. 

Hastert posted a preliminary bail of $4,500 on Friday and was released on his own recognizance.