Sen. Elizabeth Warren Wednesday slammed Republicans for rejecting family leave legislation, citing Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan's condition that he would not give up any additional time with his family should he become Speaker of the House.
Warren, the first-term Massachusetts Democrat, unleashed her fury on Twitter:
Ryan, 45, the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, cited family time
among the conditions under which he would seek the House speaker's role.
"I cannot and will not give up my family time," said Ryan, the 2012 vice presidential candidate. "I may not be able to be on the road as much as previous speakers, but I pledge to make up for it with more time communicating our message."
Ryan, whose family includes three young children, also called for House conservatives and other factions of the GOP to unite in order "to move from being an opposition party to a proposition party.
"Because we think the nation is on the wrong path, we have a duty to show the right one," he added. "Our next speaker needs to be a visionary one."
The current speaker, John Boehner of Ohio, abruptly announced last month that he was leaving Congress on Oct. 30 after 25 years on Capitol Hill. He said he would stay on until a new speaker was elected.
Democrats have long attacked Republicans for voting against paid family leave, with
Hillary Clinton regularly raising the issue since kicking off her presidential campaign in April.