Despite official denials that Speaker Paul Ryan is resigning, rumors that he plans on leaving his current position in politics persist. A Republican congressman just strengthened those rumors in a Monday interview on the Nebraska Newsmakers podcast.
“The rumor mill is that Paul Ryan is getting ready to resign in the next 30 to 60 days and that Steve Scalise will be the new Speaker,†said Rep. Mark Amodei, who represents Nevada’s second congressional district.
When asked why Ryan might want to leave now, Amodei suggested that, since tax reform was one of the speaker’s biggest focuses, he could potentially feel that it’s a good time to exit after Republicans passed their tax plan in December.
“If I was just guessing, he wanted to do the tax bill,” Amodei said. “You know,  John Boehner said the same thing: ‘Hey, when I checked all of the boxes I thought were important and I’m moving on to whatever else.’ If it is, in fact, true, I know that Paul Ryan thinks he wants to play on the national stage in some capacity or another.”
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The blue wave Democrats have been riding in congressional races recently has also sparked speculation that Ryan might be looking to bow out of his current job.
A spokesperson from both Ryan and Scalice’s teams denied Amodei’s claims. Since he said the resignation is said to be happening 30 to 60 days, we won’t have to wait long to see if this rumor is true.
