Paul Ryan Announces His Resignation on Wednesday

Following the exodus of aides and officials from the White House, Paul Ryan joins by announcing his resignation from the position of House Speaker on Wednesday.

House Speaker Paul D. Ryan announced his decision to retire from the White House on Wednesday, joining the wave of resignations of many other White House aides since the Trump administration. By retiring, Ryan is stepping down from one of the most powerful jobs of the nation, and this decision has surprised many Republican leaders and candidates, as they were hoping to use him as a leverage to help them win the upcoming midterm elections in the fall.

Mr. Ryan’s retirement is also telling of the parties’ control in the White House. The Republican party, though holding a majority of the seats in the House currently, has become increasingly deeply divided, and is likely to lose control to the Democrats.

Mr. Trump’s approval rate has dropped to below 40 percent in the most recent polls and over 50 House Republican seats could be lost to Democrats in the fall. Many Republicans have hoped that Mr. Ryan would not retire until after the election to steady the shaking morale of the Republican party, and felt disillusioned and dismayed at his sudden decision.

Others have appealed that the Republican party shifts its focus onto preserving its control in the Senate instead of the House, as the G.O.P. Senate could prevent any Democratic legislation from passing and putting into place.

Mr. Ryan has often been put into contrast with Mr. Trump. While the latter has embodied chaos and often sparked increasing cultural tensions and war, Mr. Ryan has held the party steady in the White House and more focused on issues regarding to the economy and taxes. Many have commented that his departure will make the upcoming campaign more revealing of Mr. Trump’s voice and politics, one that is not softened and stabilized by Mr. Ryan.

Mr. Ryan has explained his decision to depart as a way to spend more time with his children and family. This, however, provided little comfort to the Republicans as many hoped that he would continue to provide resources in the campaign and fundraising efforts of the party. Mr. Ryan is expected to lose his fundraising power since he has lost any concrete tangible power due to his upcoming resignation.

In the past few years, almost forty Republican officials and aides have decided to leave the White House. With Mr. Ryan’s retirement, there will be a competition between the second- and third- ranking House Republicans, which are Kevin McCarthy of California and Steve Scalise of Louisiana. They will be the two main candidates running for the House speaker.

This will be a tough position to succeed, as one official commented that “McCarthy and Scalise will realize the burden is on them to save the majority.” The unsteadiness within the divided Republican party will fall on the shoulders of either candidate to save and stabilize.

The exodus from the White House only seems to escalate and continue, as Representative Dennis A. Ross of Florida announced on Wednesday of his decision to continue after his current term. He has attributed his decision to the tense and shaky atmosphere in Washington.

Mr. Ryan’s exit sure is a wake up call to both President Trump and the Republican party to stabilize and unite the party and ease the tension and negativity within the current political horizon.

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