Asked whether he is contemplating running for a leadership position in the House Republican Conference, Rep. Mark Meadows said no. | Alex Wong/Getty Images Freedom Caucus chair: House leadership 'not on my bucket list'

House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows said Wednesday that congressional GOP leadership roles are “not on my bucket list,” after news broke that Speaker Paul Ryan will not seek re-election.

The North Carolina lawmaker told reporters on Capitol Hill that he has given “zero consideration” to running to replace Ryan, weighing in on a race expected to send congressional Republicans scrambling to fill the slot.


Asked whether he is contemplating running for a leadership position in the House Republican Conference, Meadows said no. “Leadership positions have never been on my bucket list," he said.

Pressed further on whether he is mulling a bid to replace Ryan as Republican leader of the House, Meadows replied: “At this point there has been zero consideration to run for speaker.”

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Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) — Ryan’s No. 2 and No. 3 deputies in the House Republican Conference — are both expected to be leading contenders for the speakership.

Meadows added that he didn’t “necessarily” see a member of the House Freedom Caucus replacing Ryan, while cautioning that “certainly the Freedom Caucus having a voice in leadership decisions and the agenda is certainly important.”

“We represent a broad swath of the American public,” he said.

