And if you don’t know, now you know:
Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan has informed some of his closest friends and family that he plans to step down as House speaker following the 2018 midterm elections, according to a report in Politico.
But Ryan said Thursday he has no plans to step down, and an aide called the story "pure speculation."
"As the speaker himself said today, he’s not going anywhere any time soon," the aide said.
The Politico report says the Janesville Republican, who has represented Wisconsin's 1st District in Congress since 1999 and has served as speaker since 2015, "has made it known to some of his closest confidants that this will be his final term as speaker."
"In recent interviews with three dozen people who know the speaker — fellow lawmakers, congressional and administration aides, conservative intellectuals and Republican lobbyists — not a single person believed Ryan will stay in Congress past 2018," the story said.
"More recently, over closely held conversations with his kitchen cabinet, Ryan's preference has become clear: He would like to serve through Election Day 2018 and retire ahead of the next Congress," according to Politico.
According to Politico, his motivations for stepping down are twofold: frustration with the job, which he likened to "running a daycare center," and a desire to spend time with his three children before they grow up and leave the nest.
And VoteVets is wasting no time helping Randy “Ironstache” Bryce (D. WI) keep his campaign well-fueled:
Moments ago, news broke that Congressman Paul Ryan is considering retiring after the midterm elections.
But honestly, Paul Ryan doesn't deserve to retire with dignity, he deserves to be sent out with an embarrassing defeat. Help make it happy by splitting a $3 donation between VoteVets and Paul Ryan's challenger, Randy Bryce, and do it today.
http://action.votevets.org/beat-paul-ryan
Paul Ryan thinks he is going loot the U.S. Treasury to rain cash on some of the richest Americans in this country and then leave out the back door? No way. No how. We're gonna beat him first.
- The team at VoteVets
Click here to donate to Ironstache’s campaign.