AFP, Washington :
US lawmakers on Thursday elected Paul Ryan, a conservative Republican who helped steer budget and tax policy in Congress, as speaker of the House of Representatives, seeking to end months of political disarray.
Ryan, 45, now holds the most powerful job in Congress and is second in line to the presidency after the vice president, should the commander-in-chief be impeached or otherwise vacate the Oval Office.
The nine-term congressman from Wisconsin quickly called for returning the House to “regular order,” a nod not just to the Democratic minority, but to rank-and-file conservatives who had felt marginalized by Ryan’s predecessor.
“Let’s be frank. The House is broken. We’re not solving problems; we’re adding to them. And I am not interested in laying blame,” Ryan told fellow lawmakers after winning the vote.
“We are not settling scores. We are wiping the slate clean.”
Ryan’s victory puts a conservative ideas man at the helm of the House during a crucial period, following years of divisive Republican infighting and partisan gridlock that has earned Congress just a nine percent public approval rating.
“A lot is on our shoulders,” he said.
US lawmakers on Thursday elected Paul Ryan, a conservative Republican who helped steer budget and tax policy in Congress, as speaker of the House of Representatives, seeking to end months of political disarray.
Ryan, 45, now holds the most powerful job in Congress and is second in line to the presidency after the vice president, should the commander-in-chief be impeached or otherwise vacate the Oval Office.
The nine-term congressman from Wisconsin quickly called for returning the House to “regular order,” a nod not just to the Democratic minority, but to rank-and-file conservatives who had felt marginalized by Ryan’s predecessor.
“Let’s be frank. The House is broken. We’re not solving problems; we’re adding to them. And I am not interested in laying blame,” Ryan told fellow lawmakers after winning the vote.
“We are not settling scores. We are wiping the slate clean.”
Ryan’s victory puts a conservative ideas man at the helm of the House during a crucial period, following years of divisive Republican infighting and partisan gridlock that has earned Congress just a nine percent public approval rating.
“A lot is on our shoulders,” he said.
