Washington Rep. John Boehner's allies publicly and privately are ratcheting up the drumbeat: They want him to stay speaker through at least year's end if Rep. Paul Ryan passes on the job.
If that occurs, Boehner supporters are worried that it could seriously jeopardize the ability of Congress to reach an accord with the White House on hot-button fiscal issues, potentially prompting the first-ever U.S. default in November and a government shutdown in December.
"We would feel really comfortable - absent Paul Ryan - if John Boehner remained until at least we got through those issues, and we had time to conduct a normal kind of (leadership) contest," Cole said.
The talk comes as Congress returns from a week-long recess - after their leadership team was thrown into turmoil following Boehner's sudden decision to resign by month's end and McCarthy's abrupt announcement that he wouldn't seek the speakership.