“I think he should come meet with us, and I imagine he wants to do that if he wants to run,” Mulvaney said. “Again, the issues on the list [of Freedom Caucus priorities] primarily were rule changes. The way that our conference is run. That’s what we’re trying to reform through the process.”

But unlike other candidates for the speakership, Ryan won’t be eager to engage in horse-trading to earn support of his colleagues on the right flank. He might be open to some of the rules changes they want, but it’s extremely unlikely that he would commit to such reforms in exchange for votes in a speaker election.

Ryan wants people to support him because they think he’s a good leader who will do the right thing for the party and the country, not because he’s agreed to a set of demands, according to people close to him.

Brendan Buck, a spokesman for Ryan, said that while his boss appreciates the support from his colleagues, he’s still not running for speaker.