House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) announced Wednesday he would not seek re-election in November, signaling that Republicans may have a more difficult time maintaining their Congressional majority through the midterm elections.
Ryan’s decision took his Republican colleagues and Democratic opponents by surprise, though he reminded reporters Wednesday he agreed to take up the Speaker’s job in 2015 “reluctantly.”
“I have given this job everything I have,” he said, according to the Associated Press. “We’re going to have a great record to run on.”
Ryan said he decided not to run again to spend more time with his three teenage children, who live in the same Wisconsin town in which Ryan grew up.
He will serve until the end of his term, in January.
His decision not to seek reelection will likely ignite the campaign for his Wisconsin seat and could swell the wave of Republican lawmakers deciding not to run, said Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ).
“When the captain of the football team quits the game halfway through, gives you a good indication of how the rest of the game is going to go,” Gallego told Cheddar. “He knows he’s going to be a minority leader next year.”
“I think Republicans should really be worried about the tsunami that’s coming,” Gallego added.
After Ryan’s announcement, Rep. Dennis Ross (R-FL) announced he would retire after eight terms in the House.
More than 40 Republicans have announced that they won’t run in 2018, either because they’re retiring or seeking other office. Democrats need 24 seats to take back control of the House for the first time since 2011.
Republicans’ chances of maintaining their majority have been hurt by growing voter dissatisfaction and President Trump’s low approval ratings -- around 40 percent in recent polls.
Gallego, who represents Arizona’s 7th district, criticized Trump’s policies, especially his proposed border wall.
Funding for the wall was excluded from the recent $1.3 billion bipartisan spending bill the president signed, frustrating Trump. Instead, he suggested sending up to 4,000 National Guard troops to the southern border with Mexico, though they will not have the authority to make arrests or “perform law enforcement duties.” The governors of California, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona have all agreed to send the National Guard.
Gallego criticized the president, saying he was using the National Guard as “a prop” in a political debate.
“There is no emergency,” Gallego said. “There’s no reason you call up the National Guard and call it a crisis, just so you can boost up your poll numbers.”
Last December, the arrests of illegal immigrants trying to cross into the U.S. dipped to the lowest level since 1971.
For the full interview, [click here.](https://cheddar.com/videos/why-rep-ruben-gallego-says-the-game-isnt-going-to-end-well-for-republicans-this-november)
U.S. and Chinese officials say a trade deal between the world’s two largest economies is drawing closer. The sides have reached an initial consensus for President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping to aim to finalize during their high-stakes meeting Thursday in South Korea. Any agreement would be a relief to international markets. Trump's treasury secretary says discussions with China yielded preliminary agreements to stop the precursor chemicals for fentanyl from coming into the United States. Scott Bessent also says Beijing would make “substantial” purchases of soybean and other agricultural products while putting off export controls on rare earth elements needed for advanced technologies.
A new poll finds most U.S. adults are worried about health care becoming more expensive.
The White House budget office says mass firings of federal workers have started in an attempt to exert more pressure on Democratic lawmakers as the government shutdown continues.
President Donald Trump says “there seems to be no reason” to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping as part of an upcoming trip to South Korea after China restricted exports of rare earths needed for American industry. The Republican president suggested Friday he was looking at a “massive increase” of import taxes on Chinese products in response to Xi’s moves. Trump says one of the policies the U.S. is calculating is "a massive increase of Tariffs on Chinese products coming into the United States." A monthslong calm on Wall Street was shattered, with U.S. stocks falling on the news. The Chinese Embassy in Washington hasn't responded to an Associated Press request for comment.
Most members of the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate setting committee supported further reductions to its key interest rate this year, minutes from last month’s meeting showed.
From Wall Street trading floors to the Federal Reserve to economists sipping coffee in their home offices, the first Friday morning of the month typically brings a quiet hush around 8:30 a.m. eastern, as everyone awaits the Labor Department’s monthly jobs report.
The Supreme Court is allowing Lisa Cook to remain as a Federal Reserve governor for now.
Rep. John Moolenaar has requested an urgent briefing from the White House after Trump supported a deal giving Americans a majority stake in TikTok.
A new report finds the Department of Government Efficiency’s remaking of the federal workforce has battered the Washington job market and put more households in the metropolitan area in financial distress.
A new poll finds U.S. adults are more likely than they were a year ago to think immigrants in the country legally benefit the economy. That comes as President Donald Trump's administration imposes new restrictions targeting legal pathways into the country. The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research survey finds Americans are more likely than they were in March 2024 to say it’s a “major benefit” that people who come to the U.S. legally contribute to the economy and help American companies get the expertise of skilled workers. At the same time, perceptions of illegal immigration haven’t shifted meaningfully. Americans still see fewer benefits from people who come to the U.S. illegally.
