House Speaker Ryan's campaign fundraising tops $17 million in first quarter

Reuters
U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan makes a statement to the media on Capitol Hill in Washington ruling himself out as a potential 2016 presidential candidate April 12, 2016. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan said on Wednesday that he has raised $17.2 million in congressional campaign contributions during the first three months of 2016 through a network of political action committees organized to help House Republicans in the November election. The announcement came a day after Ryan strongly rejected any notion that he could become this year's Republican presidential nominee. It underscored his role in helping fellow Republicans as he works to win agreement on a budget resolution and to shape his caucus into an effective mouthpiece for Republican social and fiscal policy. The first-quarter fundraising allowed the Wisconsin congressman to transfer $11 million to the National Republican Congressional Committee during the period, including a monthly NRCC record of $6.3 million in March, according to Ryan's political office. The figures also provide new evidence of Ryan's fundraising prowess, which has shown signs of surpassing the performance of his predecessor, Ohio Republican John Boehner, by some measures. All told, Ryan has now raised $23.5 million as speaker, through a network that includes his Team Ryan joint fundraising committee, his Ryan for Congress campaign committee and his Prosperity Action political action committee, his staff said. (Reporting by David Morgan; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)