U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan plans to formally announce he's not running for president, according to an aide to the Wisconsin Republican.
“He's going to rule himself out and put this to rest once and for all,” the staffer said.
Ryan, who was the GOP vice presidential nominee in 2012 and assumed the speakership last fall, has repeatedly denied that he would run for the party's presidential nod in the event of a contested convention. But that has not stopped rumors from flying.
Politico first reported the news. The publication said the announcement would come Tuesday afternoon at the Republican National Committee's headquarters on Capitol Hill.
Ryan has recently begun building out a national policy platform dubbed "Confident America" that will encompass issues such as national security, poverty, health care and constitutional authority.
"We do not like the direction the country is going, and we have an obligation to offer an alternative. That's why House Republicans are developing a bold, pro-growth agenda to take to the country," the initiative's website states.
Although he has repeatedly denounced several contentious statements made by Donald J. Trump this winter, he has also said he would support whomever voters picked. Instead, he is focusing on a policy agenda in the House he hopes the eventual nominee will support.
Many Republicans expect that if Mr. Trump prevails, Mr. Ryan will avoid directly helping him, choosing instead to shore up vulnerable House Republicans, particularly those who may try to distance themselves from Mr. Trump. He is already raising money toward that end.
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