Paul Ryan is reportedly telling friends 'Trump fatigue' really was a big reason for his departure

(Image credit: Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

published 12 April 2018

The speaker doth protest too much, sources think — at least when comes to his reasons for quitting.

Despite House Speaker Paul Ryan's repeated insistence that it wasn't his disagreements with President Trump that pushed him to decide not to run for re-election this year, Politico reports that he's been telling his friends otherwise.

Ryan announced Wednesday that he plans to leave Congress when his term ends this year, saying at a press conference that he wants to spend more time with his family while his teenaged children still live at home. Skeptics pointed toward his fraught relationship with Trump, wondering whether their conflicting points of view became too much for the speaker to bear. Ryan insisted to reporters that his departure had nothing to do with the president, but anonymous friends of Ryan's told Politico that wasn't the case.

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Summer Meza has worked at The Week since 2018, serving as a staff writer, a news writer and currently the deputy editor. As a proud news generalist, she edits everything from political punditry and science news to personal finance advice and film reviews. Summer has previously written for Newsweek and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, covering national politics, transportation and the cannabis industry.

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