Moments after the gavel was handed over Thursday morning, new House Speaker Paul Ryan delivered his first address to Congress and called for the restoration of order. "Let's be frank," Ryan said, after bidding a final goodbye to retiring House Speaker John Boehner. "We're not solving problems. We're adding to them."
Rather than "settling scores" and "laying blame" to solve those problems, Ryan said that, under his speakership, the House will instead be "wiping the slate clean." "A lot is on our shoulders," Ryan said, admitting that he never thought he'd be speaker. "Let's all pray for each other — Republicans for Democrats and Democrats for Republicans. And I don't mean pray for a conversion. Pray for a deeper understanding. Because when you're up here you see it so clearly. Wherever you come from, whatever you believe, we are all in the same boat."
Ryan was elected speaker in a full House vote with 236 Republicans supporting him.
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