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Lakewood Times

Lakewood Times

Lakewood Times

    Paul Ryan Announces Retirement

    Paul+Ryan+Announces+Retirement

    Wednesday, April 11, Speaker of The House Paul D. Ryan announced that he will not be running for re-election in the 2018 midterm election. This is a big announcement, with republicans already losing seats, a loss of the majority and the Speaker of the house would be a major win for the Democratic Party.

    Paul Ryan will serve as the Speaker of the House—the leader of the House of representatives—till congress ends its session in January, marking his 20th year in congress. Ryan says his early retirement is mainly due to his family, wanting to spend more time with his three children, saying, “If I am here for one more term, my kids will only have ever known me as a weekend dad. I just can’t let that happen. So I will be setting new priorities in my life,” stressing his fleeting time as a father, Ryan continued, “The truth is, it is easy for it to take over everything in your life and you can’t just let that happen because there are other things in life that can be fleeting as well: Namely your time as a husband and a father.”

    But Ryan believes he is “leaving this majority in good hands with what I believe is a very bright future”, with his retirement kicking off the race to replace him. The two most likely candidates are House Majority leader Kevin McCarthy of California, and House Majority Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana.

    Either way, in a crucial election for both parties, Paul Ryan’s retirement could lead to a chain reaction of lost seats for the Republican Party, who could lose the majority—and the overhauling power— in the back half of the Trump presidency to the Democrats.

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