Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) leaves a closed door House conference at the US Capitol on October 28, 2015. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

The Republicans in the House of Representatives this afternoon backed Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan as their choice for Speaker of the House in a closed meeting.

Ryan easily defeated competitor Daniel Webster of Florida, in a 200-43 secret ballot vote. Next up is a vote on the House floor Thursday morning, in which current Speaker John Boehner will hand over the gavel.

It’s a gavel that lies heavy in the hand of the person wielding it. The Speaker needs to deal with an increasingly unruly faction of the Republican Party, the Freedom Caucus, that has no problem shutting down the government over any number of disagreements.

When Boehner announced his resignation, Ryan said he wasn’t interested in the role, calling it a job for an “empty nester.” Following the quick burnout of Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s candidacy for Speaker, leaders begged Ryan to change his mind. He agreed only after extracting a number of conditions that will allow him to spend time with his family and make it difficult for folks from the Freedom Caucus to remove him from the Speakership.

This would make Ryan the youngest Speaker since shortly after* the Civil War, a job third in line for the presidency.

*corrected