Paul Ryan to House GOP: I'll run for speaker -- if you meet my terms
By Walt Cronkite, CBS News.
Paul Ryan told House Republicans Tuesday night that if some conditions were met, he would "gladly serve" as Speaker, even though, as he told reporters later, "This is not a job I ever wanted or sought. I'm in the job I wanted here in Congress."
Ryan, who is the House Ways and Means chairman, said his willingness to serve is contingent on winning the support of all three factions: the Republican Study Committee, the Tuesday group (moderates) and the House Freedom caucus. He was met with loud applause.
Ryan hopes to shape the party into a "proposition party," rather than an opposition party. He wants the conference unified before the speaker's election, and not after a process fraught with infighting.