Ryan Sworn In As New U.S. House Speaker

Paul Ryan was elected the new speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday, with an appeal to resolve the legislative gridlock and partisan rancor seemingly endemic on Capitol Hill.

Ryan, a Republican congressman from Janesville, faced the full House vote Thursday and easily won a majority in the GOP-controlled chamber. After the vote, he was promptly sworn into office.

Ryan was sworn in by Democratic Rep. John Conyers of Michigan, the senior member of the House, and moments afterward, the new speaker shook Conyers’ hand and said, “What’s next?”

Ryan’s swearing in as the 54th speaker marks a changing of the guard in House leadership. Former Speaker John Boehner stepped down earlier this year as he struggled to manage the GOP majority in the House.

After the swearing-in ceremony, Ryan asked his fellow lawmakers to pray for each other, saying Republicans should pray for Democrats and Democrats should pray for Republicans.

“And I don’t mean pray for a conversion” to the other party, Ryan joked. “Pray for a deeper understanding.”

“The House is broken,” but that it can be fixed if lawmakers realize they are “all in the same boat,” he said.

Ryan said that he has no illusion that unity in the House will suddenly break out, but “we have nothing to fear from honest differences honestly stated.”

U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington, a member of the GOP leadership, had nominated Ryan for speaker. She said the House is eager for fresh start so the chamber can better fulfill its obligations, and she said there’s no one better than Ryan “to lead us in that calling.”

Ryan easily bested other would-be challengers for the speakership during Thursday’s vote. Some conservative lawmakers backed fellow Republican Rep. Daniel Webster of Florida. Democrats, meanwhile, nominated Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, with fellow California Democrat Xavier Becerra saying Pelosi, a former speaker herself, “understands how to get things done.”

Ryan won 236 votes while Pelosi nabbed 184. Webster received nine votes. Democrats John Lewis of Georgia and Jim Cooper of Tennessee each received one vote, as did former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell.

Ryan’s 2012 running mate, Mitt Romney, was expected to among the guests watching the pomp and politics in the House. Ryan’s office says Romney, the former Massachusetts governor who was the Republican presidential nominee in 2012, and his wife, Ann, were joining Ryan’s family in the speaker’s box. Ryan was Romney’s vice presidential pick three years ago.

The session’s opening prayer came from Ryan’s longtime pastor, the Rev. Donn Heiar, a Roman Catholic priest from Janesville.

Stay tuned to Wisconsin Public Radio and WPR.org for continuing coverage.