Paul Ryan denies retirement rumours: 'I ain't goin' anywhere'

House Speaker Paul Ryan has pushed back against reports saying he has plans to leave Congress after the 2018 elections.

“I ain't goin' anywhere,” Mr Ryan told reporters when asked about the retirement rumours.

The Wisconsin Republican has reportedly told some of his closest confidants that he “would like to serve through Election Day 2018 and retire ahead of the next Congress”, according to a Politico report attributed to unidentified sources.

AshLee Strong, Mr Ryan’s spokeswoman, called the report “pure speculation”.

“As the speaker himself said today, he's not going anywhere any time soon,” she said in a statement.

Shortly after the Politico article was published, Brendan Buck, an aide for Mr Ryan, tweeted: “tldr” - short for “too long, didn't read”.

The article is not the first to raise questions about how much longer Mr Ryan will remain in office, especially given how Republicans may now succeed in passing a tax code rewrite. Both the House of Representatives and Senate are expected to vote on a final bill next week.

Some of Mr Ryan’s close friends apparently told CNN that the Speaker has had some soul-searching conversations about his future with them.

But according to people close to him, it is inaccurate to say that Mr Ryan would resign immediately following tax reform because it's all he's ever wanted. Mr Ryan particularly dislikes the toll the job has taken on his family, sources told the outlet.