The only Republican who does not want Paul Ryan to become the next House speaker, it seems, is Paul Ryan.
But the former vice-presidential nominee and chairman of the Ways and Means Committee may be changing his mind. After issuing a statement immediately following House majority leader Kevin McCarthy’s withdrawal from the race reiterating that he will not seek the job, multiple sources tell National Review that Ryan is, at the very least, considering a change of heart.
“I’m told he’ll sleep on it,” says a source close to Ryan.
Two additional Republican sources say Ryan has in fact already made up his mind to jump in the race.
One House GOP source says they are hearing Ryan first needs to get his wife on board.
In the wake of McCarthy’s last-minute decision to pull out of the running, Ryan is the only member of the Republican conference who it seems could command broad support. He is the undisputed intellectual leader of the group and, as a former vice-presidential nominee, has proven that he can survive — and thrive — in the glare of the national spotlight.
But, with a young family back home in Wisconsin, he has until now strongly resisted entreaties from his colleagues. When outgoing speaker John Boehner announced his resignation last month, Ryan said the vacancy was “a good job for an empty nester.”
Time will tell if his colleagues can prevail upon him to change his mind.