Could Donald Trump cost Paul Ryan the speakership?

Paul Ryan.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) is still in his first term as House speaker, but he may not get a second term depending on how things shake out Nov. 8.

His first problem is the math. At present, Ryan leads a 246-seat Republican majority in the House, more than enough to retain his role, but eight of the Republicans who voted against him the first time around will have the opportunity to do so again. If he loses their votes and that majority shrinks on Election Day, Ryan may well find himself dangerously close to the 218 votes he needs to win.

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Bonnie Kristian

Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.