Paul Ryan

Wisconsin Republican who chaired the Budget Committee and served as Speaker of the House from 2015 to 2019.

Overview

Ryan won his first House election in 1998 and became the party's leading voice on fiscal policy, chairing the Budget Committee and publishing budget plans that proposed restructuring Medicare and cutting spending. In 2012 he was Mitt Romney's running mate on the Republican presidential ticket. After John Boehner resigned in 2015, Ryan, then chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, reluctantly agreed to become Speaker. His speakership produced the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, though an effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act failed in the Senate. He did not seek reelection in 2018.