House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) said he will not run for president in 2016.
“I have decided that I am not going run for president in 2016,” Ryan said in an interview with NBC News published Monday. He added that he made the decision “weeks ago.”
“It is amazing the amount of encouragement I have gotten from people—from friends and supporters—but I feel like I am in a position to make a big difference where I am and I want to do that,” Ryan said.
Ryan, notably, was the Republican nominee for vice president in 2016. He had since been mentioned as a possible 2016 contender.
The decision comes as the 2016 Republican primary field solidifies. In recent days Mitt Romney, who was at the top of the 2012 presidential ticket, signaled interest in running in 2016.
If Ryan had decided to run for president, he would have had to give up the Ways and Means gavel under House rules.
