Rep. Paul Ryan not interested in replacing John Boehner as House speaker
MADISON -- Rep. Paul Ryan is not interested in replacing Rep. John Boehner as speaker of the House of Representatives.
Boehner announced Friday that he will be resigning at the end of October. Ryan's spokesman says the Republican from Janesville is not interested in the post. Ryan is chairman of the Ways and Means Committee.
Ryan says in a statement that Boehner's decision to step down is "an act of pure selflessness."
He calls Boehner "a great leader of the Republican Party and the House of Representatives."
U.S. Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner said Friday that Boehner ended up "being the scapegoat" for not being able to overcome filibustering Democrats in the U.S. Senate.
Sensenbrenner calls the speaker's job "thankless."
Rep. Paul Ryan released the following statement Friday, September 25th.
"John Boehner has been a great leader of the Republican Party and the House of Representatives. This was an act of pure selflessness. John's decades of service have helped move our country forward, and I deeply value his friendship. We will miss John, and I am confident our conference will elect leaders who are capable of meeting the challenges our nation faces. I wish John and his family well as he begins the next phase of his life.”