House conservative group would 'look favorably' on Ryan for speakership

By Jason Lange and Timothy Gardner WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A group of hard-line conservative Republicans would "look favorably" on Paul Ryan if he ran to be speaker of the House of Representatives, the group's leader said on Sunday. The approximately 40-member House Freedom Caucus is at the center of turmoil within the Republican Party over who will be the party's effective leader in the House ahead of the 2016 presidential election. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy had been the front-runner in the race but abruptly dropped out on Thursday after facing skepticism from Freedom Caucus lawmakers who viewed him as too willing to compromise with Democratic President Barack Obama.

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