House Freedom Caucus member Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO) said Wednesday that he didn’t like Rep. Paul Ryan’s (R-WI) demand that he’ll only run for House speaker if the chamber rewrites its rules to make it harder to remove the speaker.
Ryan has set a number of conditions for him to run for speaker, which includes the support of prominent GOP groups, including the conservative hardliner Freedom Caucus.
‘I think that we have to make sure that if a speaker does something that embarrasses the House that House members commits a crime or some other act, that the House can act quickly and take care of that issue,” Buck said during an interview on CNN.
But Buck said that he wasn’t “ready to commit to Ryan.”
“I don’t like a ban on taking down a speaker until the next election two years later, no,” Buck said.
Ryan is scheduled to meet with the Freedom Caucus Wednesday afternoon. Republicans on the caucus have given mixed reactions to Ryan’s demands.
Ryan has also said he wants the ability to spend time with his family, a demand some Freedom Caucus members, including Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-KS), have objected to.
But Buck disagreed.
“I respect the fact that he wants to spend more time with his family,” Buck said. “I think that money is played too big a role in politics in D.C. and I think the less fundraising he does the better the not just appearance but reality of how he’s going to do his job.”
Watch his comments:
