Ryan rocks Republicans with retirement The announcement creates a leadership vacuum for the party heading into a treacherous midterm election.

Speaker Paul Ryan announced Wednesday that he will not seek another term in Congress, ending what will be a three-year run as the Republican leader and creating a power vacuum in the GOP ranks heading into a punishing midterm election.

The Wisconsin Republican — who was drafted into the position in 2015 after conservatives ran John Boehner (R-Ohio) out of office — said he intended to serve out his term as speaker but wanted more time with his family.


Sources familiar with his decision say Ryan has made clear this will be his last job in politics. If that holds, it would end Ryan's rise from a House staffer to vice presidential nominee and then speaker. Before Donald Trump won in 2016, Ryan was seen as a likely White House contender in 2020.

"You all know that I did not seek this job. I took it reluctantly," Ryan told reporters at a press conference. "But I have given it all that I have and have no regrets having accepted this responsibility. This has been one of the two greatest honors of my life."

Ryan continued: "But the truth is it’s easy to take over everything in your life, and you can’t just let that happen because there are other things in life that can be fleeting as well — namely your time as a husband and a dad, which is the other great honor of my life. And that’s why today I am announcing that this year will be my last one as a member of the House."

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The announcement will set off a mad dash within the House Republican Conference to replace Ryan. Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) are both eyeing the top spot.

Though Scalise has said he would defer to McCarthy, some Republicans question whether McCarthy can garner the needed 218 votes after failing to do so in a 2015 bid amid conservative opposition.

All eyes will be on Trump. He has a close relationship with McCarthy, and his endorsement of the Californian could be crucial to mustering support with the hard right.

If Republicans lose the majority, however, the leadership picture could look quite different, and some House Republican insiders wonder whether Scalise and McCarthy will both stick around.

Ryan began eyeing the exits just before Republicans passed the tax bill in December, as POLITICO reported then, telling a small circle of close aides and family members that this would likely be his final term as speaker.

He originally intended to run for reelection and then retire after the midterm elections so he could continue raising money to protect the House GOP majority. Some senior Republicans worried that if he announced his intention to retire earlier, donors might hold back desperately needed cash in a tough midterm campaign.

But Ryan said he couldn't in good conscience tell his constituents to vote for him when he knew he wouldn't be in Washington next year. A source familiar with his decision said made his decision in consultation with his wife over the spring congressional recess.

"Just as my conscience is what got me to take this job in the first place, my conscience wouldn’t let me go out that way," Ryan said of running for reelection only to quit right afterwards.

Ryan called GOP leaders as well as Trump and Vice President Mike Pence personally on Wednesday morning to tell them the news. After huddling with leadership staff, Ryan delivered the same message to rank-and-file Republicans during a closed-door meeting. He received four standing ovations as he talked about his proudest moments: passing tax reform and giving the military a massive budget increase.

Ryan also told Republicans that he will “run through the tape” and continue to aggressively raise money for House Republicans as they try to keep their majority.

"I'm sad he's leaving; he's been a great speaker for us," said Rep. Mimi Walters (R-Calif.) as she exited the conference meeting.

Ryan's retirement presents the House GOP with many open questions. He already has fundraisers planned well into the spring, but will big-dollar donors still fork over six-figure checks to the National Republican Congressional Committee and the Congressional Leadership Fund if Ryan is leaving?

Also, will Ryan remain a lame-duck speaker until November, or will he be pressured to schedule leadership elections in the coming weeks? Ryan noted that former Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) served out his term as leader after his retirement announcement, but some Republicans are already speculating that a six month race would be a distraction.

Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC) said it’s possible for Ryan to remain speaker through the election, but that determination will depend on “the next few weeks.”

“Everyone will start jockeying for position immediately,” he said. “They won’t wait for nine months.”

If Ryan sticks to his plan to remain in the speaker’s chair through the election, it could mean as much as six months of internal jockeying within the GOP conference. The shadow campaign to succeed Ryan was already under way before Wednesday, with Mccarthy and Scalise working to build political alliances that could benefit them in a race for speaker.

Ryan's move will also be read as a sign that Democrats‘ electoral prospects are brightening. He was widely expected to leave after this year, but the timing of the announcement was much sooner than expected.

Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas) and other Republicans dismissed the suggestion that Ryan's departure was a sign of an impending Democratic wave. He said the departure makes sense after what he called Ryan’s “Reagan-like achievements” of tax reform and boosting military spending.

Ryan, 48, has spent his working life in Washington, climbing the career ladder from congressional aide to speaker. He was reluctant to take the job in late 2015, but grew into the job.

Ryan’s time atop the House will mostly be viewed through the prism of his relationship with Trump. Weeks before the election, Ryan told House Republicans they should feel free to abandon Trump's candidacy to save their own. But when Trump won, Ryan helped shepherd tax reform, the biggest victory of Trump’s presidency, through Congress. Tax reform has been Ryan's focus since coming to Congress in 1999.

The Janesville, Wisconsin native's critics say he brushed aside some of Trump's divisive language and behavior aside for political expediency.

After the announcement Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer offered Ryan remarkable praise for a Democrat, though he also urged the speaker “to break free from the hard-right factions of his caucus” and move toward the center during his last nine months as speaker.

“Speaker Ryan is a good man who is always true to his word. Even though we disagreed on most issues, in the areas where we could work together I always found him to be smart, thoughtful, and straightforward,” Schumer said, urging Ryan to seize “His newfound political freedom.”

Burgess Everett contributed to this report.