Rep. Paul Ryan moved closer to the House speakership Tuesday, telling fellow Republicans that he would consider taking the job if he could be assured that the caucus would unite behind him.
That meeting ended without specific commitments, according to members present, and at the subsequent GOP conference meeting, Ryan made clear he would need firm support from key groups by week's end to move forward.
Should he agree to assume the speaker's post, Ryan would once again emerge as a leading force in national politics, three years after serving as his party's vice-presidential nominee and amid mass unrest in GOP ranks.
Ryan's terms reflect a desire to lead the House GOP as its spokesman and agenda setter without the threat of revolt from the right, halting a dynamic that has dominated the tumultuous speakership of Boehner , who announced last month that he would leave Congress at the end of October.