After a morning filled with speculation, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R–Wis.) officially announced that he will not be seeking reelection in November and will retire from the U.S. House of Representatives in January at the end of his current term. The 48-year-old has served in Congress for almost 20 years, and in a statement he called his job “one of the greatest two honors of my life.”
According to The New York Times, the decision came as a surprise to many in the Republican party, since as late as last week Ryan hosted a donor retreat in Texas. In Ryan’s official statement, he stressed that his desire to spend more time with his family ultimately drove his decision. In prepared remarks announcing his retirement, he spoke of losing his own father at 16 and added, “I just don’t want to be one of those people looking back at my life thinking I wish I’d spent more time with my kids. If I spend another term, they will only know me as a weekend father.”
He went on to speak about what he believes have been great achievements during his time in office: “Probably the two biggest achievements for me are, first, the major reform of our tax code for the first time in 36 years, which has already been a huge success for this country, and that’s something I’ve been working on in my entire adult life. Something I’ve focused on since becoming speaker is to rebuild our nation’s military, and after addressing our military readiness crisis, that was a top priority we got done last year as well. These I see as lasting victories that will make this country more prosperous and more secure for decades to come.”
President Trump, who hasn’t always been the most vocal supporter of the speaker, took to Twitter to give his thoughts: “Speaker Paul Ryan is a truly good man, and while he will not be seeking re-election [sic], he will leave a legacy of achievement that nobody can question. We are with you Paul!”
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/984066131303583746
While Ryan may fancy the new tax bill as his lasting legacy, others will likely look back on his time in office with a bit of a different lens. Ryan has repeatedly attempted to defund Planned Parenthood, for example; then there were his attempts to overturn the Affordable Care Act—both moves that were widely criticized by professionals in the medical community as well as progressive politicians and voters alike. The new proposed health care plan, for example, would also have reportedly left millions of Americans uninsured.
Many had hoped that Ryan would be a stabilizing force in the Trump administration—someone who could stand up to the volatility of a president with no background in governing. But Ryan often evaded questions about Trump’s tweets, saying in a CNN town hall: “Do I wish there would be a little less tweeting? Of course, I do.” As former presidential candidate Evan McMullin wrote on Twitter, “Paul Ryan was the hope of the GOP, but he wilted when his leadership was needed most. Instead of checking Trump, he helped normalize him.”
Speculation in D.C. will now turn to who might replace Ryan as speaker of the house, but that would presume that Republicans maintain their majority in the November midterm elections—something that’s not a certainty. Others are wondering if this means more Republican retirements lie ahead. As for Ryan’s future, he’s not giving any clues outside of spending time with his family. But before Donald Trump arrived on the scene in 2016, he was considered a front-runner for the Republican nomination in 2020. Perhaps he will entertain thoughts about the highest office in the land once again? Some of his Twitter fans are ready to sign up and campaign right now. We will all just have to wait and see.