Being Speaker of the House has a way of wearing a leader thin and killing what little joy is left in statecraft.
There’s a long line of former politicians whose last job was Speaker after which they never sought public office again.
And, if rumors are correct, Paul Ryan may be added to that list.
According to those close to Ryan, he’s ‘made it known’ that he won’t seek Speaker again after his next term.
And that has led to all sorts of questions about whether he simply misses his family or that he may have a longer-term plan to run for governor of Wisconsin as a rung for a presidential bid.
At 47, he’s one of the youngest Speakers in history and would still be one of the youngest presidential candidates even if he waited until 2024.
Regardless, congressional approval ratings are doing him no favors and could be a good reason to get out sooner.
Here’s more from Fox News…
House Speaker Paul Ryan’s political future returned to the speculation spotlight Thursday amid reports that he’s eyeing an exit from Congress after the 2018 midterms.
Politico Magazine published a lengthy article, detailing how Ryan has “made it known” to confidants this will be his final term as speaker. On the cusp of a major legislative victory – passage of a tax overhaul – Ryan would, the thinking goes, spend 2018 trying to tackle entitlement reform, while fundraising in an all-out campaign to keep the House majority.
Then he could return to Wisconsin, leaving it all on the field.
Ryan and his aides were quick to dismiss the chatter publicly.
“No,” Ryan replied, chuckling when asked at the end of a Thursday press conference if he’s quitting soon.
“This is pure speculation. As the speaker himself said today, he’s not going anywhere any time soon,” spokeswoman AshLee Strong said in a statement.
