Paul Ryan swears he's done with public office for good. Or, well, at least while he's got kids in the house.
Ryan, the House speaker, announced Wednesday that he would not seek re-election in November and will leave Congress at the end of 2018 when his term ends. In announcing the decision, he cited the fact that he didn't want his children to only know him as a "weekend dad," given he's been in office their entire lives, and insisted his departure had nothing to do with the current political climate.
On Wednesday afternoon, Ryan told CNN's Jake Tapper that, seriously, he has no intention of running for any other political role in the future. "Not while my kids are growing up, I really don't see that," he said. "I really thought when I took this job, Jake, that this was probably the last elected office I would have. I'm not going to run for president, that's not my plan, I'm not going to do that."
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Tapper was skeptical, given that Ryan's children are teenagers and will likely be out of the house in the not-too-distant future, robbing Ryan of his wholesome excuse for stepping away for now. But Ryan insisted that running for office was "the last thing" on his mind, though he'd "always" advocate for causes he believes in. Ryan also told Politico and The Washington Post that he didn't see himself in office ever again, though he did reportedly quip that he "wouldn't mind being ambassador to Ireland when I'm in my sixties."
From the sound of it, Ryan's departure this year will really be the end of his political career. "No plans to run for anything," he told Tapper, "and I really don't think I'll change my mind."
