Fresh off of insulting the entire state of New Hampshire, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) gave reporters his latest lesson in the dark arts of political trolling by endorsing Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) for next House speaker. Reid told reporters Tuesday that he hoped Ryan was elected to the leadership position and went as far as to say he was a “fan” of the House Ways and Means chairman.
Harry Reid: ” Paul Ryan, who I hope gets to be the next speaker…”
— Todd Zwillich (@toddzwillich) October 20, 2015
Reid: Paul Ryan “appears to me to be one of the people who would be reasonable” “I’m a Paul Ryan fan” though we disagree a lot
— Todd Zwillich (@toddzwillich) October 20, 2015
Reid on his endorsement of Paul Ryan for Speaker: “If it helps him, fine. If it doesn’t, too bad.
— Todd Zwillich (@toddzwillich) October 20, 2015
Since House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) dropped out from the speaker’s race, Republicans had hoped Ryan would jump in as the candidate most capable of uniting the caucus’ hardliners with its more pragmatic wing. Conservatives, however, have expressed doubts about Ryan, particularly over his support of immigration reform and his work on on a budget deal with Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) that relaxed some spending caps.
