Paul Ryan won’t seek presidency in ‘16

Rep. Paul Ryan won’t run for president in 2016.

The Republicans’ 2012 vice presidential nominee told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and NBC News he’s happy chairing the tax-writing House Ways and Means committee.

“I like where I am,” the veteran Wisconsin congressman, 44, told the Journal Sentinel. “I feel like I can have a huge impact on the course of the debate in this country.”

Ryan would have entered the race in the first tier of candidates. A hero to the party’s conservative economic insiders, he could have raised substantial campaign funds and is well-liked among party regulars. As House Budget Chairman, he was the architect of a detailed blueprint for reducing the deficit that House Republicans embraced, but it got nowhere in the Democratic-run Senate.

His presidential decision was not unexpected. He likes the give and take of legislation, and relished his new chairmanship.

“It’s a big job and it deserves my undivided attention,,” he said, particularly at a time when there’s talk of overhauling the nation’s tax code.

This story was originally published January 12, 2015 at 4:28 PM with the headline "Paul Ryan won’t seek presidency in ‘16."