--- title: Jason Chaffetz: Paul Ryan Would Be 'Wonderful' Speaker description: Chaffetz joins a growing list of Republicans calling on Ryan to run canonical: https://time.com/4069370/chaffetz-ryan-speaker/ author: Tanya Basu article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-10-11T16:28:55.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T11:41:55.240Z article:section: Politics og:title: Jason Chaffetz: Paul Ryan Would Be 'Wonderful' Speaker og:description: "He's got the great experience. He's a visionary. He's a great spokesperson." og:url: https://time.com/4069370/chaffetz-ryan-speaker/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0dfc67e1815e8894/698867cb0a4a2244a49c6829/chaffetz.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: chaffetz og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Jason Chaffetz: Paul Ryan Would Be 'Wonderful' Speaker twitter:description: "He's got the great experience. He's a visionary. He's a great spokesperson." twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0dfc67e1815e8894/698867cb0a4a2244a49c6829/chaffetz.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Jason Chaffetz Thinks Paul Ryan Would Be a 'Wonderful' Speaker  by [Tanya Basu](https://time.com/author/tanya-basu/)  ## Tanya Basu Oct 11, 2015 4:28 PM UTC  Jason Chaffetz speaks to the media while leaving a House Republican conference meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 8, 2015. Jason Chaffetz speaks to the media while leaving a House Republican conference meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 8, 2015.Drew Angerer—Bloomberg/Getty Images  by [Tanya Basu](https://time.com/author/tanya-basu/)  ## Tanya Basu Oct 11, 2015 4:28 PM UTC Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R—Utah) thinks Paul Ryan (R—Wisc.) would make a “wonderful” House speaker. “I think he checks every box,” [Chaffetz told ABC’s _This Week_](http://abcnews.go.com/ThisWeek/video/rep-jason-chaffetz-kevin-mccarthy-dropping-speaker-bid-34402773). “He’s got the great experience. He’s a visionary. He understands the institution. He’s a great spokesperson.” Despite effusive praise from other Republicans, including former top Speaker candidate Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R.—Calif.), [Ryan has said that he is not interested in running for the position](http://time.com/4068051/paul-ryan-house-speaker/). Being Speaker requires becoming a face for the party with extensive travel and fundraising, and Ryan has cited his young children as a dissuading factor. Chaffetz, who has emerged as a prime contender for the House speaker seat vacated by Rep. John Boehner (D.-Ohio), said that the former vice presidential candidate’s youth and family is exactly what makes him a great Speaker candidate. “One of the things that I think people love is that he puts his family first,” Chaffetz said. “He’s got young kids. He’ll have to make that decision. But I think he would be a wonderful speaker, just like I thought he would be a great vice president or president.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4069370/chaffetz-ryan-speaker/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4069370/chaffetz-ryan-speaker/"},"headline":"Jason Chaffetz Thinks Paul Ryan Would Be a 'Wonderful' Speaker","datePublished":"2015-10-11T16:28:55.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T11:41:55.240Z","description":"\"He's got the great experience. He's a visionary. He understands the institution. 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