Paul Ryan will not seek re-election in 2018 midterms amid Republican fears of losing House and Senate

One of the most powerful Republican politicians in the country, House Speaker Paul Ryan, has announced he will not seek re-election in 2018.

The 48-year-old congressman from Wisconsin, who has held the job of Speaker since 2015, has decided after considerable thought that he will stand aside and not contest in November 2018. One of the reasons for his decision, according to reports, was the frustration he has working with Donald Trump.

“I think we have achieved a heck of a lot. You all know that I did not seek this job. I took it reluctantly,” Mr Ryan said at a press conference in Washington. “But I gave it everything I could ... I have no regrets.”

News of the the departure of Mr Ryan, who will serve out his term and retire in January, was first reported by Axios.

“House Republicans were already in very tough spot for midterms, with many endangered members and the good chance that Democrats will win the majority,” the website said.

“Friends say that after Ryan passed tax reform, his longtime dream, he was ready to step out of a job that has become endlessly frustrating, in part because of President Trump.”

Mr Ryan, who was Mitt Romney’s Republican running mate in 2012, become Speaker in 2015 after Tea Party activists effectively forced out John Boehner. He took the job, with some anxieties, and with a reputation as a straight but rather uncharismatic policy wonk.

Mr Ryan denied that he was resigning because of concerns about the plight of the Republicans. He also dismissed a suggestion it was because he found it difficult to work with Mr Trump.

“I’m grateful for the opportunity he has given us to do big things,” he said, adding how proud he had been to help pass last year’s tax cut, the biggest since 1986.

It is possible that Mr Ryan, who did not run for the presidency as part of a huge Republican field in 2016, could yet return to the political fray.

Mr Ryan, who said he was inspired to enter public service after reading the words of the late Russian-American novelist and philosopher Ayn Rand, has long harboured ambitions about the White House, and reports suggested he could yet make another run. It is possible he could decide to be mainstream Republican primary challenger to President Trump if the billionaire decides to seek re-election in 2020, something he has indicated he plans to do.

Reports said Mr Ryan may have thought twice to publicise any planned departure, because it could hurt his fundraising capacity on behalf of fellow Republicans and undercut his ability to make deals in the House of Representatives. Yet he said he would continue to hold the position of Speaker and then stand down in January. To run for re-election in November, and then resign two months later, would be acting in an honest way to the people he represented, he said.

“I really do not believe whether I stay or go will affect how a person running for congress does,” he said. “If we do our jobs, as we are, we’re going to have a great record to run on.”

Mr Ryan said he had spent 20 years in congress, and that if he were to stay for one more term, his children would only know him as a weekend dad. “I can’t let that happen.”

More than three dozen House Republicans have announced that they are retiring, running for another office, or resigning. Democrats need to win 24 seats in the November elections to retake a majority in the House, which Republicans have controlled since 2011.

Mr Ryan has made little effort to hide his disdain for Mr Trump, his style as a politician or his rhetoric. After an Access Hollywood video was released shortly before the election in 2016, in which Mr Trump was recorded apparently bragging about sexually assaulting women, Mr Ryan condemned the candidate’s comments.

“I am sickened by what I heard today. Women are to be championed and revered, not objectified,” he said. “I hope Mr Trump treats this situation with the seriousness it deserves, and works to demonstrate that he has greater respect for women than the clip suggests.”

It subsequently emerged that the Speaker had been even more outspoken privately. An audio recording published in March 2017, two months after President Trump had entered the White House, revealed Mr Ryan telling House Republicans at the time of the Access Hollywood’s release that he would “no longer defend” the New York billionaire.

“I am not going to defend Donald Trump – not now, not in the future,” he said. “To everyone on this call, this is going to be a turbulent month. Many of you on this call are facing tough re-elections.

“Some of you are not. But with respect to Donald Trump, I would encourage you to do what you think is best and do what you feel you need to do. Personally, you need to decide what’s best for you.”

As it was, Mr Ryan appeared to mend fences with Mr Trump, or at least pretended to, and campaigned for him in his home state of Wisconsin – a state that the brash former reality television star was able to capture by less than 23,000 votes, and which was crucial to him entering the White House.

“This is the most incredible political feat I have seen in my lifetime,” Mr Ryan said after Mr Trump had won.

“Donald Trump heard a voice out in this country that no one else heard. He connected in ways with people no else did. He turned politics on its head.”

Mr Trump praised Mr Ryan after the announcement. "Speaker Paul Ryan is a truly good man, and while he will not be seeking re-election, he will leave a legacy of achievement that nobody can question," he said. "We are with you Paul!"