Paul Ryan (29 January 1970-) was the Speaker of the US House of Representatives from 29 October 2015, succeeding John Boehner. He served in the US Congress (R-WI 1) from 3 January 1999 to 3 January 2019, succeeding Mark Neumann and preceding Bryan Steil.
Biography[]
Paul Ryan was born in Janesville, Wisconsin in 1970, and he worked as an Oscar Mayers salesman, as a legislative aide to US Senator Bob Kasten, as a speechwriter for 1996 Republican vice-presidential candidate Jack Kemp. He later worked as a marketing consultant for his family's construction company, and he was elected to the US House of Representatives in 1999. He was a reliable supporter of George W. Bush's foreign policy, including the Iraq War. In 2012, he was Mitt Romney's vice-presidential pick during the 2012 presidential election, and he opposed Donald Trump's candidacy during the 2016 presidential election. He became Speaker of the House in 2015, becoming the first person from Wisconsin to hold that position. In 2019, he decided to retire. On 27 May 2021, Ryan re-emerged to give a passionate speech criticizing Trump and his hold on the party, siding with the establishment wing of the party against the populist wing; Matt Gaetz responded with harsh criticism by comparing taking advice on "party-building" from Ryan to taking advice on in-law relations from Meghan Markle.