Boehner Explains How He Convinced Paul Ryan to Run for Speaker: ‘Catholic Guilt’

After House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy unexpectedly dropped his bid to become the next Speaker of the House, Republicans turned to Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) as their savior. Ryan was adamant, though, that he did not want the job. It would take some serious convincing to get him to do it.

That’s where former House Speaker John Boehner comes in. Asked by CNN’s Dana Bash what he told Ryan, Boehner was frank: “Well first, I laid every ounce of Catholic guilt I could on him.” In other words, Boehner said, God wanted Ryan to run for Speaker.

“Listen, Paul was the right guy at the right time,” Boehner added. “I knew he didn’t want to do it. … But it was obvious to me that he was the right person for the job. And I had to do everything I could to convince him.”

Boehner was also asked to weigh in on whether he believes there would still be a window for Ryan to run for president in the future.

“I think he would have liked to have been president, but I think he’s figured out that God has another plan in mind for him, and it’s to be Speaker of the House,” he said.

[Image via screengrab]

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