House Speaker Paul Ryan to retire after term ends in January
Apr 11, 2018, 6:09 AM | Updated: 8:19 am
(AP Photo)
(AP Photo)
Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan announced Wednesday that he will not run for re-election in the fall.
“I like to think I did my part to set us on a better course,” the Wisconsin congressman and onetime vice-presidential nominee said.
Ryan said he planned to focus on his family. He and his wife have three teenage children to whom he wanted to be more than “a weekend dad,” he said.
His term ends in January. Ryan reluctantly became speaker in October 2015, the party’s hand forced by the abrupt retirement of John Boehner in 2015.
Ryan had privately told friends recently of his plans to not return. There were reports nearly two weeks ago that he was going to retire.
“I have given this job everything I have,” he said.
Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan will not run for re-election, The Associated Press has learned. https://t.co/iVvL5byxKT
— The Associated Press (@AP) April 11, 2018
JUST IN: Speaker Paul Ryan will not run for re-election, a congressional source tells NBC News – @AlexNBCNews
— NBC News (@NBCNews) April 11, 2018
Staff was told in the morning just before he informed House Republicans.
“I didn’t want this job at first,” Ryan said, but went to say he was proud of what Congress had achieved.
President Donald Trump tweeted, “Speaker Paul Ryan is a truly good man, and while he will not be seeking re-election, he will leave a legacy of achievement that nobody can question. We are with you Paul!’
Ryan, 48, from Janesville, Wisconsin, was first elected to Congress in 1998.
He had made tax cuts a centerpiece of his legislative agenda, and Congress delivered on that late last year.
He was former GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney’s running mate in 2012.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
