House Speaker Paul Ryan said Thursday he stands by his call for Roy Moore to drop out of the Alabama Senate race in the wake of allegations the GOP candidate sexually assaulted underage girls.
While President Donald Trump opted to formally endorse Moore and the RNC decided to reverse its decision to pull funding from the race, top Republicans in Congress have been vocal about their opposition to the Senate hopeful. The latest WBRC-TV/Strategy Research poll shows Moore with a seven-point advantage over Jones, but Ryan said his lead in the race doesn’t change his opinion on the matter.
“No — my position hasn’t changed. I have not changed,” he told at his weekly press conference. “I think he should have dropped out, just because the polling has changed doesn’t change my opinion on the matter. So I stand behind what I said before. ”
The Wisconsin Republican has repeatedly said he believes the allegations against Moore are credible.
Ryan’s comments echo those of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who said Tuesday he has not had a “change of heart” on the candidate.
McConnell said Republicans would be forced to seat Moore if he wins his race, adding an ethics investigation would be launched shortly upon his arrival.
“If he were to be elected he would immediately have an ethics committee case and the committee would take a look at the situation and give us advice,” the Kentucky Republican told reporters Tuesday.
Moore maintains the allegations are false.