Paul Ryan ‘proud’ of campaign, ‘looking forward’ to DC return

BOSTON — Defeated Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan said Wednesday that he was "proud" of the campaign run by the Romney campaign and thankful for his nomination to the ticket.

"I am immensely proud of the campaign we ran, and I remain grateful to Governor Romney for the honor of being his running mate," said the Wisconsin lawmaker in a statement.

Ryan added that he was looking forward to returning to his congressional duties soon. Ryan won his eighth consecutive term to the U.S. House, defeating Democratic challenger Rob Zerban in Wisconsin's first district. State laws allowed Ryan to seek both reelection to his congressional seat and the vice presidency.

"I look forward to spending some time with my family in the coming days and then continuing my responsibilities as chairman of the House Budget Committee and representative of Wisconsin's First Congressional District," Ryan added.

Ryan gained national prominence during his time at the helm of the Budget Committee, but is now approaching the six-year limit Republicans place on committee leadership. Ryan is expected to request a wavier from the House GOP leadership to remain atop the panel.

Ryan is thought to be eying chairmanship of the powerful Ways and Means Committee, which is tasked with oversight of healthcare and tax legislation, along with Social Security, Medicare, and welfare programs. But Ryan will likely defer to Rep. Dave Camp (R-Mich.), who became Ranking Member of the committee in 2009 and chairman in 2011.

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