US House Speaker Paul Ryan won't seek re-election

US House Speaker Paul Ryan will not seek re-election and will retire from Congress after this year, his office announced on Wednesday, adding to the uncertainty about whether Republicans can maintain control of the lower chamber.

"This morning Speaker Ryan shared with his colleagues that this will be his last year as a member of the House," Ryan aide Brendan Buck said in a statement cited by CNN.

"He will serve out his full term, run through the tape and then retire in January. After nearly 20 years in the House, the Speaker is proud of all that has been accomplished and is ready to devote more of his time to being a husband and a father," Buck said.

The exit of the 48-year-old clean-cut conservative would be a major blow to the Republican party ahead of November's mid-term elections.

He called House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy about his retirement before the news broke, CNN cited sources as saying.

Ryan, a Wisconsin Republican, has been in Congress since 1999 and became the House Speaker in 2015. He was also the Vice Presidential running mate for Mitt Romney in 2012.

Ryan had long championed tax reform, a goal accomplished with the passage last year of the sweeping GOP tax bill.

The two Republicans most likely to replace Ryan were McCarthy and House Majority Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana.

According to American news and information website Axios, Ryan found his job frustrating, partly because of President Donald Trump.

--IANS

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