Washington Rep. John Boehner's allies publicly and privately are ratcheting up the drumbeat: They want him to stay speaker through at least year's end if Rep. Paul Ryan passes on the job.<br />If that occurs, Boehner supporters are worried that it could seriously jeopardize the ability of Congress to reach an accord with the White House on hot-button fiscal issues, potentially prompting the first-ever U.S. default in November and a government shutdown in December.<br />"We would feel really comfortable - absent Paul Ryan - if John Boehner remained until at least we got through those issues, and we had time to conduct a normal kind of (leadership) contest," Cole said.<br />The talk comes as Congress returns from a week-long recess - after their leadership team was thrown into turmoil following Boehner's sudden decision to resign by month's end and McCarthy's abrupt announcement that he wouldn't seek the speakership.
