Representative Paul Ryan spoke in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol Building after being elected Speaker of the House.
On October 29, 2015, Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives elected Representative Paul Ryan of Wisconsin to be the 54th Speaker of the House. He replaced Representative John Boehner of Ohio, who resigned from the position and retired from Congress. Ryan received 236 votes among the 247 Republican members of the House.
At 45 years old, Ryan is one of the youngest people to be elected Speaker of the House. He was formerly the chair of the House’s Ways and Means Committee. This committee reviews and oversees all new bills related to taxes, tariffs, and other forms of revenue collected by the federal government. As chair of the committee, Ryan was known for his proposals to reform the federal budget. His reputation on the national scene grew when former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney chose him as his vice-presidential running mate in the 2012 presidential election.
Ryan was born and raised in Janesville, Wisconsin, where he still lives today with his wife Janna and their three children. During his childhood, he and his family often went on hiking and skiing trips to the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. After graduating from high school, Ryan attended Ohio’s Miami University, where he earned degrees in economics and political science.
After college, Ryan worked as a marketing consultant for his family’s construction business. His introduction to politics came a few years later when he became a legislative assistant for U.S. Senator Bob Kasten of Wisconsin. Ryan was 28 years old when he was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1998. He is now serving his ninth term as Representative for Wisconsin. When he’s not busy with his many congressional duties, he enjoys spending time with his family, fishing, bow hunting, and working out to keep fit.
Ryan now holds the position often referred to as the most powerful job in Washington, D.C., after the President. Being the Speaker of the House comes with many duties and responsibilities. One of Speaker Ryan’s initial tasks will be to work to bring together different factions, or opposing groups, within the Republican Party. These factions have had many disagreements over important issues, such as government spending. These differences are partly what caused Representative Boehner to resign as Speaker. When Ryan received the Speaker nomination, he spoke hopefully about his new leadership role: “This begins a new day in the House of Representatives… We are going to unify. We are going to respect the people by representing the people.”
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