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Paul Ryan rejects pleas to run for president

House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wis., talks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, March 3, 2016. Former GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney, with whom Ryan ran as the vice-presidential candidate, is charging into the increasingly divisive White House race with a verbal lashing of Donald Trump and a plea for fellow Republicans to shun the front-runner for the good of country and party. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wis., talks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, March 3, 2016. Former GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney, with whom Ryan ran as the vice-presidential candidate, is charging into the increasingly divisive White House race with a verbal lashing of Donald Trump and a plea for fellow Republicans to shun the front-runner for the good of country and party. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

By Associated Press March 4, 2016 1 min read

The word from House Speaker Paul Ryan’s camp is nope, he’s not running for president.

The professed lack of interest from the Wisconsin Republican came Friday in a letter from a lawyer representing Ryan to the Federal Election Commission. The note by Timothy E. Kronquist disavows the Committee to Draft Speaker Ryan, a political action committee that filed papers with the FEC this week.

The letter says Ryan “has not, and does not, explicitly or implicitly, authorize, endorse, or otherwise approve of the organization’s formation or activities, and he is not involved with the organization in any way.”

It notes that “Ryan has repeatedly announced publicly that he is not running for president in 2016.”

Ryan spokeswoman AshLee Strong added in an emailed comment, “He is flattered, but not interested.”