Ryan Becomes GOP’s Top Fundraiser

House Speaker Paul Ryan “doesn’t want to be the Republican nominee in this year’s presidential election, but his high-profile presence and behind-the-scenes work raising money for the GOP could position him to seize the spotlight four years from now,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Mr. Ryan raised $17.2 million in the first three months of 2016, outpacing his predecessor as speaker, John Boehner, as GOP fundraiser-in-chief… More than $11 million of the money Mr. Ryan raised from January through March went to the National Republican Congressional Committee, the House GOP campaign arm, surpassing the $7 million record set by Mr. Boehner in the second quarter of 2012.”

Politico: “Paul Ryan’s massive $17 million fundraising haul this quarter was fueled by some of the nation’s richest people and large corporate political action committees, which cut five- and six-figure checks to the speaker’s burgeoning political operation.”