Tipsheet

Paul Ryan Would "Consider" the VP Slot

As chairman of the House Budget Committee, the perceptions of Rep. Paul Ryan often fall between a pretty fierce dichotomy: he's either a brave, brilliant, budgetary maverick, or a quack who pushes grandmothers off of cliffs. But for those who are fans of his work to save America's fiscal future, including the latest budget proposal unveiled last week, they may be pleased to hear that he isn't definitively ruling out the possibility of fulfilling the running mate slot for the GOP presidential nominee. Starting at the 10:30 mark, emphasis mine:

“I just don’t know the answer to your question, Chris. It is not a bridge I have even come close to crossing. It is a decision that somebody else makes a long time from now. And, quite honestly, I am focused on doing my job in Congress, which I think is important, which is to give the country an alternative choice of two futures on how we save and strengthen America, how we save the American dream from what I think is this path the president has put us on to debt and decline. So, I can’t answer that question. I haven’t given enough thought to that. ... I would have to consider it, but it’s not something I am even thinking about right now because I think our job in Congress is pretty important, and what we believe we owe the country is if we don’t like the direction the president is taking us, which we don’t — we owe them a specific sharp contrast and a different path they can select in November and doing this in Congress is really important. That’s why I think I have a real good job right now.”