House Speaker Paul Ryan is not seeking re-election and will retire from Congress after this year, his office announced Wednesday.
"This morning Speaker Ryan shared with his colleagues that this will be his last year as a member of the House," Ryan aide Brendan Buck said in a statement. "He will serve out his full term, run through the tape, and then retire in January. After nearly twenty years in the House, the speaker is proud of all that has been accomplished and is ready to devote more of his time to being a husband and a father."
According to two sources with direct knowledge, in calls this morning with his leadership team, Ryan made clear much of this decision was about spending time with his family, but also noted that he planned to leave after this Congress and didn't think it was fair to his district or the GOP conference to run for re-election only to leave right after.
A source familiar told CNN that Ryan called House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy about his retirement before the news broke.
Ryan, a Wisconsin Republican, has been in Congress since 1999 and became House speaker in 2015.
This...is...huge...news.
Ryan did not want to be Speaker in the first place, but he clearly enjoyed being in politics and using his position to screw over poor people at every opportunity.
If he is throwing in the towel it is likely because he realizes that the Democrats will almost certainly be the majority in Congress after the midterms, and that his days as Speaker are over anyhow.
He might also fear the "Iron Stache," and realize that he is going to be humiliated in this next election cycle and wants to get out while the getting is good.
Can you say "Blue Wave?"
Source https://ift.tt/2HinoGH
