Paul Ryan: Many Republicans wanted to impeach Trump but didn't have the guts

“There were a lot of people who wanted to vote like Tom but who just didn’t have the guts to do it,” said Ryan, The Myrtle Beach Sun News reported.

“There are a lot of people who say they’re going to vote their conscious, they’re going to vote for the Constitution, they’re going to vote for their convictions, but when it gets hard to do that, they don’t do it,” he said.

“Tom Rice is a man of conviction,” Ryan added.

Rice has argued that Republicans ought to stick with Trump’s policy ideas but abandon the man. He called his House reelection bid a battle between “nerds” like himself and Ryan, who aim to enact conservative policy, and “flamethrowers” who put allegiance to Trump over all else, The Sun reported.