Ryan signals support for McCarthy as next GOP leader

A day after his retirement announcement, Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) on Wednesday signaled support for House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) as his successor. 

Ryan did so by saying that he was pleased that Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) had endorsed McCarthy to succeed him.

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“I was encouraged that Scalise this morning said that he thinks after the election that Kevin McCarthy ought to be the person to replace me after the elections,” Ryan told reporters at his weekly news conference.

“What it shows you is that we have an intact leadership team that supports each other, that’s all heading in the right direction,” the Speaker added.

In an appearance on Fox News, Scalise said he would not run against McCarthy but did not offer an endorsement.

“I wouldn’t run against Kevin. He and I are good friends,” Scalise told Fox News.

Neither McCarthy nor Scalise has publicly said that they are running for the position, though many lawmakers expect both to do so.

Ryan stated Wednesday and again on Thursday that he has a preference for who should succeed him when he steps down from the speakership in January. But he has not made his preference public.

However, many interpreted his remarks Thursday as a sign that he preferred McCarthy, his top deputy, to replace him as leader of the GOP conference.

Ryan, McCarthy and then-Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) launched the House GOP’s “Young Guns” agenda that helped propel Republicans back into the majority in the 2010 midterm elections.

And Ryan backed then-Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.) over Scalise in a short-lived campaign for majority leader in the leadership shake-up following Speaker John Boehner’s (R-Ohio) resignation in October 2015.

Melanie Zanona contributed.