House Speaker Paul Ryan does not back a push by some of his Republican colleagues to boot Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein from office, he said Thursday.

"Do I support impeachment of Rod Rosenstein? No, I do not. I do not for a number of reasons," the Wisconsin Republican told reporters.

A group of conservatives on Wednesday introduced articles of impeachment against the Justice Department official, who oversees special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe. GOP representatives including Mark Meadows of North Carolina and Jim Jordan of Ohio have contended that the Justice Department has not responded quickly enough to document requests related to the Russia investigation.

Ryan's comments Thursday came as Jordan announced plans to run for House speaker — despite an investigation into whether he ignored alleged sexual abuse of wrestlers when he was an assistant coach at Ohio State. Jordan has denied knowledge of the abuse.

Ryan told reporters that Rosenstein has not committed any misconduct that justifies impeachment. His opposition to the impeachment effort greatly decreases the chances of Rosenstein getting removed from office.

He contended that "we should not be cavalier with the process, or with this term." He said Rosenstein's actions have not risen "to the level of high crimes and misdemeanors" needed for impeachment.

Ryan added that he believes Justice Department compliance with document requests has gotten better since the House speaker became involved with the process.

Mueller is investigating Russia's efforts to interfere in the 2016 election and whether the Trump campaign colluded with Moscow. President Donald Trump has repeatedly called the investigation a "witch hunt," and his defenders in Congress have done all they can to make the investigation difficult for Rosenstein and Mueller.