Speaker Paul D. Ryan announced Wednesday he will not run for re-election and will leave Congress at the end of his term.

“This has been one of the two greatest honors of my life,” the speaker said. The other, he said, is his role as a husband and father, which he cited as his reason for leaving.

“If I’m here for one more term, my kids will only ever have known me as a weekend dad. I just can’t let that happen,” he said.

Ryan said he considered retiring after the election, noting that’s supposedly the politically appropriate thing to do, but said in good conscience he couldn’t go out that way because it wouldn’t be fair to his constituents in Wisconsin.

Watch: Ryan Announces He Will Not Seek Re-Election