WASHINGTON — House Republicans selected Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan as their choice to replace John Boehner as House speaker Wednesday — and the nominee immediately blasted his party for a lack of vision.
Ryan, 45, secured 200 votes in a closed-door meeting.
Florida Rep. Daniel Webster, who is backed by disgruntled members of the right-wing House Freedom Caucus, got 43 votes. Two others got one vote each.
Ryan is expected to formally win the position in a vote Thursday on the House floor, although it will require that restless conservatives who opposed him get on board.
He will need a 218-vote majority of the full House to be elected.
“Our party has lost its vision and we are going to replace it with a vision,” Ryan said after the vote.
“We are not going to have a House that looked like it looks the last few years. We are going to move forward,” he added.