Paul Ryan Is Leaving Congress
By Jonathan Swan at Axios is reporting that Paul Ryan, a rabid Ayn Rand ideologue who was wrongly miscast as one of Washington’s Smartest People, has officially decided to resign from Congress.
Multiple others are confirming that Ryan will notify colleagues this morning.
Source close to @SpeakerRyan confirms to me he is telling colleagues this morning he will not seek re-election
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) April 11, 2018
There has, of course, long been speculation that this would happen, or at the very least, that Ryan would step down as Speaker of the House. Nevertheless, it’s significant. As Swan notes in the Axios piece, “One of Washington’s best-wired Republicans said: ‘This is a Titanic, tectonic shift. … This is going to make every Republican donor believe the House can’t be held.’” I surely hope so.
Ryan’s most important legacies as Speaker will be fourfold: pushing through massive and massively unpopular tax cuts for the wealthy; increasing the national debt dramatically; escalating attacks on the social safety net at a time when more Americans have needed it than have since its inception; and showing absolute spinelessness in the face of the most transparently corrupt and unhinged presidential administration in any of our lifetimes.
At least we’ll always have these:
Feel free to insert your “bye, bitch” GIF of choice, or equivalent thereof, in comments.