House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) announced Wednesday that he will be leaving Congress at the end of 2018, when his term concludes. The rumors of his imminent departure had been swirling for months, though, to Ryan and his team's vehement denial. Here is a short timeline of Ryan's dodges. Jeva Lange

"The speaker can't afford to admit he's a lame duck — his fundraising capacity and deal-making leverage would be vastly diminished, making the House all the more difficult to govern. When asked at the end of a Thursday morning press conference if he was leaving soon, Ryan shot a quick 'no' over his shoulder as he walked out of the room." [Politico, Dec. 14, 2017]

"The president did speak to the speaker not too long ago and made sure the speaker knew very clearly and in no uncertain terms that if [a Politico report claiming he was considering retirement] was true, he was very unhappy with it. The speaker assured the president those were not accurate reports and that they looked forward to working together for a long time to come." [White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Dec. 14, 2017]

"This is pure speculation. As the speaker himself said today, he's not going anywhere any time soon." [Ryan spokeswoman AshLee Strong, Dec. 14, 2017]

"I am not going anywhere anytime soon, and let's just leave that thing at that." [Paul Ryan, Dec. 19, 2017]

"It's a thought that never entered my mind, let alone discussed it with anybody. So I really see this as sort rank speculation among the D.C. beltway press, speculating these things. I think it was fairly irresponsible speculation. It's faulty speculation." [Paul Ryan on CBS This Morning, Dec. 20, 2017]

"Yeah look, I'm not going anywhere any time soon. I’m so focused on getting our agenda done." [Paul Ryan on Good Morning America, Dec. 20, 2017]

"I have no plans of going anywhere any time soon. But that's something that my wife and I always decide in late spring of the election year." [Paul Ryan on Face the Nation, Jan. 21, 2018]