Politics

House Speaker Ryan mulls retirement after 2018 elections: Politico

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U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., December 12, 2017. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan has told confidants he would like to retire after the 2018 congressional elections, Politico reported on Thursday, but the Wisconsin lawmaker and an aide played down the report, saying he wasn’t quitting any time soon.

“Ryan has made it known to some of his closest confidants that this will be his final term as speaker,” Politico said.

Politico said it interviewed three dozen people who knew Ryan – including lawmakers, congressional and administration aides, conservative intellectuals and Republican lobbyists – and that “not a single person believed Ryan will stay in Congress past 2018.”

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said President Donald Trump had spoken to Ryan “and made sure that the speaker knew very clearly and in no uncertain terms that if that news was true, he was very unhappy with it.”

Republican House Speaker Ryan told Trump retirement report was rumors were not true: White House

Boehner’s tenure as speaker was marked by fractious divisions among competing groups within the Republican Party. Ryan has tried to move the party beyond those disputes with only limited success.

Party divisions earlier this year prevented Republicans from delivering a promised overhaul of healthcare legislation, and the path toward tax reform has also been complicated by internal disagreements and intense lobbying from industry groups.

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