One day after his time as Speaker of the House of Representatives officially came to a close, Paul Ryan smilingly shrugged off a request for any advice for successor Nancy Pelosi saying: ‘I’m really talking right now.’
Ryan declined the offer to advise the Democrat as he returned home in Janesville, Wisconsin after enjoying his first full day out of elected office in 20 years.
Asked if he was missing life at Capitol Hill the 54th Speaker of the House glanced down, gave a wry smile and opted to give the question a body swerve saying, ‘Take care, all right’ before wishing DailyMail.com ‘Happy Holidays.’
Ryan had taken his children to school on a day when politics in D.C. had been dominated a shutdown which began 14 days ago, when he was still in power.
The ex-Speaker, whose time as third in line to the presidency ended when the new Congress entered its first session Thursday, dressed casually and was unshaven as he fulfilled the promise he made before he quit office: to reconnect with his family.
Ryan had quit Washington abruptly without hanging around to present the gavel to Nancy Pelosi and was last seen in the capital before Christmas.
More than 800 miles from Capitol Hill, Ryan had nothing more pressing than the school run on his morning agenda.
Nothing for Nancy: Paul Ryan shrugged off the offer of advice for his successor as he spent his day casually dressed and unshaven in Janesville, WI, being a full-time father to his three children
Grin that says he’s free: Paul Ryan spent time at his family’s parish church and school complex in Janesville, WI
Weight off his shoulders: Casually dressed and clutching a cup of coffee, Paul Ryan spent the first full day of his life after the Speakership taking his sons to school in Janesville, WI
Casual style: Paul Ryan dressed in a University of Wisconsin-Madison Badgers jacket, trendy $95 Allbirds sneakers, which are made from merino wool, and a stars and stripes cap for his school run
This way son: Paul Ryan escorted his children to a waiting Suburban from his security detail
New life: Paul Ryan is spending time in Janesville being a hands-on father after quitting electoral politics – but can expect offers for speaking engagements
The beard is back: Paul Ryan was unshaven as he dropped his children off at school
Want to book the ex-speaker? A speaking agency is now taking offers to have Paul Ryan speak at private events
Home sweet home: Paul Ryan is spending time at his Janesville, WI, family home where he said he was planning on re-connecting with his family full-time
In these exclusive DailyMail.com photographs, Ryan dressed in a University of Wisconsin-Madison jacket, with its distinctive Bucky Badger logo, a gray stars and stripes cap and spot pants and sneakers as he came and went from the family home.
He clutched a cup of coffee as he escorted sons Sam, 14, and Charlie, 16, to one of his security detail’s waiting Suburbans to take them to school. His daughter, Liza, 17, was not with her brothers.
Ryan, 48, chatted casually to a member of his security detail as he returned home. He also spent time at the complex of St. John Vianney Catholic church and school, where he and his family worship.
The new life in the snowy mid-western town could hardly be further from the crucible of Republican politics which he was at the center of since becoming Speaker in 2015.
When he announced his decision not to seek re-election in April 2018, he said that his purpose was to have a family life with his children and his wife, Janna.
The ‘family clock’ was ticking he said, and he wanted to be around as his children headed for college.
Speaking shortly after announcing that he would not be seeking re-election he said, ‘I’m excited just to spend the weekends with my kids and I usually only get Sundays because I’ve been running around the District on Saturdays.
‘So just this idea that I’m gonna have more of that time makes me extremely happy.
‘I have no plans on the table right now, none whatsoever. And I’m just gonna take some time off….and just figure it out.’
He also made no announcement about his future plans or what he would do for a living after leaving the $223,500-a-year speaker ship.
The plan for for 2019 is, ‘to figure out my plan for 2019’, he told a press conference in the Capitol.
But DailyMail.com can disclose that he is already being offered as a speaker by AAE Speakers, the All American Speakers Bureau.
Ryan could expect to charge at least $50,000 a speech and possibly more, with travel by private jet to the venue on top.
Last sighting: Paul Ryan’s career as speaker formally ended on Thursday morning but he had not been seen at the Capitol since this sighting on December 21
Miss it much? Nancy Pelosi, Paul Ryan’s successor as speaker, was at the White House for talks with Trump which she said were contentious
New broom: Nancy Pelosi posed with the Democratic female members of Congress before her meeting with Trump
Gavel down: Paul Ryan ended his career after three years as speaker and 20 years in the House of Representative saying he wanted to ‘figure out my plan for 2019’
His presence on AAE Speakers books does not mean he has signed a deal with them, but that the company believes they can secure him to speak.
His predecessor John Boehner is also taking bookings through the Harry Walker agency in New York, which also represents Bill Clinton.
As a former vice-presidential running mate as well as speaker, a safe financial future for Ryan and his family appears to be a certainty.
Like Boehner, he can expect to receive offers to sit on corporate boards, and could also be offered visiting professorships at universities and colleges.
Ryan’s emphasis on family life may also help secure a book deal with a warmer-hearted edge than most political memoirs.
A full tell-all of his relationship with Donald Trump would make him an instant multi-millionaire, if he is prepared to detail their behind closed-doors interactions.
Ryan spoke of how his decision to walk away from elected politics was influenced in part by the loss of his father at the age of 55.
The youngest of four children, Ryan has previously spoken about how he was a teenager when his father Paul Sr. turned heavily to alcohol, saying: ‘Whisky washed away some of the best parts of the man I knew.’
Ryan was 16 when he found his father dead in his bed from a heart attack that he has always attributed, in part, to his heavy drinking.
With his kids hurtling through their teens it was time, according to Ryan, to hit re-set.
Being Speaker, he said in one exit interview, ‘more than doubles your time away from home.’ He did not want to be ‘an empty nester’ before ever truly being around as a father.
In contrast in Washington D.C. his two successors – Nancy Pelosi as Speaker and Kevin McCarthy, the Republican Minority Leader – were at the White House for talks with Trump on ending the shutdown.
Pelosi was refusing to budge on her refusal to include any spending on Trump’s Mexican border wall in exchange for him agreeing to sign a spending bill which returns the government to working in full after a two-week shutdown.