Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) agreed “to meet with some members of the House Freedom Caucus, the hard-line group that helped force the resignation of Speaker John Boehner, in advance of a larger meeting of Republicans, potentially ending the suspense about whether he will answer his party’s pleas and run for speaker,” the New York Times reports.

“Compounding the pressure to settle on a new speaker is the fact that the country’s borrowing authority is set to expire in about two weeks, and a short-term budget measure to avert a government shutdown will run out in less than two months.”

Politico reports Ryan is giving the House Republican Conference until Friday to decide whether it is behind him.

Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) “is more open than ever to becoming the next House speaker, following a contemplative week at home with his family. But before he makes a final decision, friends say, he will seek assurance from Republican hard-liners that he will have their full support should he win the gavel,” the Washington Post reports.

“Those discussions will begin Tuesday evening at the Capitol when House Republicans gather for a closed meeting. It is unclear when Ryan, the 45-year-old chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee and 2012 vice-presidential nominee, will openly discuss his intentions.”

“After weeks of insisting he would not run for Speaker, Wisconsin Republican Rep. Paul Ryan – according to those close to him – is now open to leading the fractured Republican conference, and seriously considering launching a bid for speaker of the House,” CBS News reports.

“But there’s a caveat. And it’s a big one. Ryan’s confidants tell CBS News he will not horse trade with the House Freedom Caucus, a group of 40 or so deeply conservative members who have been demanding changes to House rules and other very specific promises from candidates for Speaker in exchange for their support. Ryan’s confidants say he is not going to negotiate for a job he never sought, and that he has a record of conservative leadership that should be clear to every member of the GOP conference.”

“Republicans imploring Paul Ryan to become U.S. House speaker are dangling a pledge that he can skip the job’s frantic fundraising duties. But it’ll cost them upwards of $35 million per election cycle,” Bloomberg reports.

“That’s what outgoing Speaker John Boehner raised, through a grueling nights-and-weekends pace that had him trekking from Florida to Alaska and places in between throughout the 2014 campaign. And this year is no different, as Boehner already has traveled to more than 100 events, according to his fundraising operation.”

“Some say the cost wouldn’t only be to the party. Ryan, 45, would find himself a weaker speaker if he didn’t put his star quality to work for lawmakers desperate for campaign cash.”

A Smart Politics analysis finds that if Paul Ryan is elected Speaker he would be the youngest to hold the position since Maine Republican John Blaine in 1869.

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), the founder of the House Freedom Caucus, says his group is not sold on Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) for Speaker, The Hill reports.

Said Jornda: “Well, look, Paul Ryan is a friend, I meet with him every single week, we talk about policy, I think he’s be a great messenger. He’ll come in front of our group and talk to us, I think our group would be favorable towards him, but we’re not there yet.”

He added that his 40-to-50-member group would be willing to support Ryan if he committed to decentralizing power in the House.

Washington Post: “The concerns driving Ryan are both personal and political. His man-in-a-hurry nature, evident since he first won a House seat in 1998, has never been about climbing the leadership ladder in Congress. Whenever there has been an opening, he has passed, encouraging allies to jump in and focusing instead on drawing up tax and spending legislation in the committee rooms.”

“That career arc — a busy, committee-driven existence in the House after a stint on a presidential ticket — has allowed him to keep a relatively ordinary family life. Those close to Ryan suggest that he is reluctant to give that up for a position, however prominent, that for the past 25 years has been a grind that usually ends in a whimper for its holders, either political embarrassment or personal scandal.”

First Read: “As of this writing, there’s a very good chance we’ll see Rep. Paul Ryan, chair of the House Ways & Means Committee, relent and take the speaker’s job — even if temporarily — even though he and his office have tried to shut the door at every opportunity. On MSNBC’s ‘Morning Joe’ this morning, Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK) said he was fairly confident that Ryan would take the job. So why would Ryan take it, despite all of his earlier statements? It might come down to this: If not him, then who? But the window to pressure Ryan might be short — if House Republicans don’t get him to acquiesce today, then there is the possibility he’s able to close the door once and for all.”

“It’s worth pointing out: House Republican rebels and the House Freedom Caucus have now gotten three political scalps over the past year — Eric Cantor (who lost his primary in 2014), John Boehner (who announced he’s stepping down two weeks ago), and Kevin McCarthy (who yesterday abandoned his bid to run for speaker). The House GOP’s original 1-2-3 are essentially gone.”

Ezra Klein: “Ryan doesn’t want to be team captain. He wants to be the guy preparing the legislation the next Republican president will sign into law. In recent years, he got halfway there: as chair of the House Budget Committee, he came up with broad budgets that included the basic agenda the next Republican president would follow… But now Ryan’s chair of the vastly more powerful House Ways and Means Committee… Combining the role Ryan has built in the party as Ideologist-in-Chief with the power of the House Ways and Means Committee almost instantly makes Ryan the most powerful Republican in the country when it comes to party’s policy direction, particularly on economic and domestic policy.”

“Given that, it makes sense that Ryan pulled himself out of the race early. If Ryan was running for president in 2016 — or if Republicans even thought he might run for president in 2016 — they would assume his work at Ways and Means was really preparatory work on behalf of Ryan 2016. Worse, his fellow potential candidates would have to distance themselves from Ryan’s ideas, as he would be a threat to them. But now Ryan can work to shape all their agendas simultaneously, and they will have to compete for his favor — they’ll want both his endorsement and, if they win, his help.”