Justin Amash: ‘We Need a Change in Direction from this Speaker or We Need a New Speaker’

Paul Ryan Walking Away AP

Congressman Justin Amash (R-MI) said that if the House of Representatives does not change course, Republicans might need a new Speaker.

The Michigan conservative responded to a question about gridlock in Washington, saying, “We need either a change in direction from this speaker, or we need a new speaker.”

Rep. Amash added that the speaker should be replaced with someone who is “nonpartisan.”

Congressman Amash also criticized the House Republican leadership. He said, “When we go home for the weekend, they give us a set of talking points. They say, ‘Here are your talking points.’ That’s not the way you’re supposed to represent a community.”

Congressman Amash echoes the sentiment of other conservatives who wonder if Ryan should lead the House.

Lou Dobbs, a Fox Business anchor, called on Paul Ryan to resign after the Obamacare repeal fiasco.

Judge Jeanine Pirro called for Paul Ryan to resign in her opening monologue after the House Republicans failed to pass Ryancare:

Paul Ryan needs to step down as speaker of the house. The reason? He failed to deliver the votes on his healthcare bill, the one trumpeted to repeal and replace Obamacare, the one that he had seven years to work on, the one he had under lock and key in the basement of Congress, the one that had to be pulled to prevent the embarrassment of not having enough votes to pass.

Congressman Mark Meadows, chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, said that there are “no conversations going on” in his caucus about replacing Ryan.

Congressman Amash later tried to recenter the conversation towards his constituents at the town hall, saying, “I’m the one holding a town hall here— not Donald Trump.”

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