Paul Ryan Upends Republican Hopes and Plans for Midterm Elections

WASHINGTON — Fifteen months after Republicans took full control of Washington, the man once seen as central to the party’s upbeat and inclusive future is abandoning one of the most powerful jobs in the capital, imperiling the G.O.P. grip on the House and signaling that the political convulsions of the Trump era are upending the conservative movement.

House Speaker Paul D. Ryan’s retirement announcement on Wednesday blindsided many House Republican candidates and their campaign leaders who expected him to help them win the midterm elections in November. His decision to leave Congress at 48 also sent an undeniably pessimistic message to his party: That neither the House speaker nor President Trump has shown any real ability to bridge the internal tensions that have plagued congressional Republicans for years and made it difficult for the party to forge consensus on policy beyond the unifying issue of taxes.

But for House Republicans, and for a White House bracing for a potential Democratic impeachment inquiry, the more immediate and ominous impact of Mr. Ryan’s retirement was unmistakable: He has made it more difficult for his party to keep control of the House, where Republicans currently hold a 23-seat majority. With one decision, Mr. Ryan has turned an already difficult midterm election into a precarious task for his remaining colleagues.

“This is the nightmare scenario,” said former Representative Thomas M. Davis, a Virginia Republican. “Everybody figured he’d just hang in there till after the election.”

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/paul-ryan-upends-republican-hopes-and-plans-for-midterm-elections/ar-AAvMaPW?li=BBnb7Kz

The Republicans were fucked before Paul Ryan made his decision.