Per the national press, Ryan is privately talking about running for it:
Rep. Paul Ryan is telling House Republicans privately he is considering running for speaker, several members say.
Ryan informed several members on the House floor of his deliberations, Rep. Chris Stewart, R-Utah, told CNN. Stewart added that he urged Ryan to run, with the Wisconsin Republican replaying that he was "thinking and praying on it."
Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who shocked Capitol Hill by deciding Thursday not to try and succeed retiring Speaker John Boehner, also said Ryan is weighing a run.
"Paul's looking at it but it's his decision," McCarthy said on CNN. "If he decides to do it, he'll be an amazing speaker but he's got to decide on his own."
Rep. Darrell Issa, R-California, said that Ryan told him privately he is thinking about it as well. "I think he's gone from a 'hard no' to he knows he has to consider it," he said.
But back at home behind the Cheddar Curtain, the press is reporting that Ryan is rebuffing the pressure and is firm on not running:
"He needs to do this for the team," said House Republican Fred Upton of Michigan.
That appeal came after a Ryan spokesman issued the latest in a series of statements saying Ryan remains out of the running for the office of speaker being vacated by John Boehner.
"Chairman Ryan appreciates the support he's getting from his colleagues but is still not running for speaker," said the statement.
Ryan himself made no remarks to his GOP colleagues at a closed-door session Friday morning to discuss the party's leadership crisis. And he walked past reporters in the Capitol hallways throughout the day saying he had nothing to add.
[...]
Ryan has been emphatic in the past about not wanting the job, citing both the time and travel demands and his desire to continue chairing the House Ways and Means Committee.
If the Republicans really want Ryan to even seriously consider being the Speaker of the House, they are going to have to find a way to really sweeten the pot.
Ryan has got it good right now. He doesn't have to do anything. He introduces some bills that his dark money overlords give him, gets them passed and then sits back, watching the money roll in. Why would he give that up for a job where he actually has to work?
Not only that, he's the last one of the "Young Guns" that hasn't been completely disgraced. Why in the world would he want to risk being proven the fraud that he is by exposing his incompetence to the world?
