Rep. Adam B. Schiff said Thursday that House Speaker Paul D. Ryan decided to retire to avoid the fallout of Republicans’ efforts to undermine the Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation.
“I think the speaker decided rather than fight this, rather than speak up for on a system of checks and balances, rather than take on the president, he would rather leave before the ship comes crashing to the shore,” Mr. Schiff, California Democrat, said on CNN.
Mr. Ryan announced Wednesday that he would be retiring at the end of his term in January and leave both the speakership and his seat in Congress. He said it was not due to President Trump or the increasingly polarized Congress, but he said he wanted to spend more time in his home state of Wisconsin with his family.
Mr. Schiff said that he felt Mr. Ryan was also leaving due to the House Republicans’ handling of the Russia investigation and their push for a second special counsel regarding the handling of the Hillary Clinton investigation. Mr. Schiff did say he has had no conversations with the speaker about his reasons for leaving.
• Sally Persons can be reached at spersons@washingtontimes.com.
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