Paul Ryan says he will 'gladly serve' as speaker of the House, under certain conditions

Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) announced Tuesday that if the House Republican caucus unites behind him and agrees to certain conditions, he is willing to run for speaker of the House.

His requests include moving "from opposition party to being a proposition party," and updating House rules so "everyone can be a more effective representative." He said the next speaker has to be a visionary, and the constant challenges to the House leadership during a crisis have to stop. Finally, "I cannot and will not give up my family time," he said. He promised he would not be on the road as often as current Speaker John Boehner, but would spend "more time communicating a vision and message."

The decision is now in the hands of his colleagues, he said, and "should they agree with these requests, then I am happy and willing to get to work." If they unite behind him, "I will gladly serve," he said, "and if I'm not unified, that will be fine as well, I'll be happy to stay where I am at the Ways and Means Committee." A spokesman for Ryan told the Los Angeles Times that Ryan had asked his colleagues to "make clear whether they support [the requests] by this Friday." Earlier this month, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) unexpectedly dropped out of the race for speaker of the House.

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