The tradition of giving former Speakers of the House an office and staff is coming to an end following a quiet bout of one-upmanship between Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), a former Speaker herself.
At Ryan’s request, funding for the office was to be cut down from five years to one year in the legislative branch appropriations bill under consideration in the House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday.
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Ryan is planning on retiring in January.
In response, Pelosi wrote a letter to Democrats on the House legislative branch appropriations subcommittee saying that the funding should simply be eliminated.
“It is my opinion that funding for the office of former speakers should be removed altogether,” she wrote.
Republicans saw Pelosi’s move as grandstanding, but it’s a proposal that Ryan supports, according to a GOP aide.
“This may well be a bluff, but it’s actually an idea the Speaker supports,” an aide in the House GOP leadership said.
Given their agreement, the final bill is expected to remove funding for former Speakers’ offices altogether.