As second lady of the U.S. under the Reagan Administration, Bush took on her first political project to increase literacy rates among youth, establishing the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy. Sparked by her son Neil’s diagnosis of dyslexia, Bush quickly began to realize the importance of literacy, referring to it as the “most important issue we have.”

As suggested by her literacy organization’s name, Bush recognized that literacy was about much more than education. Bush emphasized the importance of education and youth literacy and literacy’s importance in the family unit. Literate parents are able to read to their children, which provides both a bonding opportunity as well as an opportunity to learn about family history through documents and letters passed down through generations.

Bush acknowledged that illiteracy is not an isolated issue with a single source, and literacy became a springboard for numerous political issues from educational funding to fighting homelessness. By promoting the intersection of illiteracy and other socioeconomic disadvantages, she made literacy one of America’s most discussed problems and developed alternative educational programs for illiterate adults to give them a chance at a better life. During the remainder of her life, Bush stayed true to her devotion to literacy. Her husband acknowledged her devotion to literacy at her funeral with his socks.

Bush was also involved in HIV/AIDs advocacy. The Republican Party and, more specifically, Presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush received criticism for their silence on the growing AIDs epidemic. Choosing not to follow their lead, Bush visited those suffering with AIDs in a conscious effort to eliminate the social stigma surrounding the epidemic.

Bush made national headlines when she visited the non-profit organization Grandma’s House and closely held a young child infected with AIDs. She told the press it is perfectly safe to touch someone infected with the HIV virus and that infected individuals are people too. This humanizing effort showed that Bush, the first lady at the time, cleared a path for national acknowledgement of the AIDs epidemic and acceptance of infected people as victims, rather than untouchables. Bush’s actions and input on her husband’s political opinions possibly influenced George H.W. Bush’s passage of the Comprehensive AIDs Research Emergency Act, a bipartisan effort to help fund care for those infected with the HIV virus.

Photos courtesy of David Hume Kennerly/Getty Images and Twitter: Jim McGrath.

“What I realize is if I am here for one more term, my kids will only have ever known me as a weekend dad. I just can’t let that happen,” Ryan said.

Washington Post journalist and Chair of Public Policy and Social Science at Vanderbilt University Larry Bartels is just one of the many political pundits skeptical about Ryan’s reasoning for the sudden departure. As of now the mainstream speculations point to the frequent clash between Trump and Ryan over issues of budget and legislative tactics. Others turn to Ryan’s failed attempt to shrink the deficit and cut welfare spending as a reason for his retirement from the House.

Unlike his predecessor John Boehner (R-Ohio), Ryan will carry out the rest of his term as speaker, which will end in January of 2019. The important question becomes who will succeed Ryan as Speaker of the House at the start of his retirement.

The two obvious candidates were the next highest ranking republicans in the House, Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and Steve Scalise (R-La.), the latter of whom is still recovering from an attack before the annual congressional baseball game last year. McCarthy is currently the House Majority Leader and Scalise is next in command as Majority Whip. On April 15, 2018, Ryan endorsed McCarthy to be the next Speaker of the House. Scalise publicly remarked that he respects the decision of Ryan and believes that McCarthy is the best man for the job. As a result, Scalise will not run for the position.

However, Ryan’s endorsement and Scalise’s blessing do not mean that McCarthy is going to be able to succeed Paul Ryan easily. McCarthy was a front-runner to replace Boehner in 2015, but conservative opposition caused Ryan to have to take the reigns. The House Freedom Caucus is already declaring their distaste for McCarthy and all those in the current Republican leadership. The libertarian-leaning members of the House Republicans want a drastic change in leadership, and see McCarthy as Ryan’s right hand man with no revolutionary ideas or hope for the future of the Republican party.

Of course, all of this speculation relies on the presumption that the Republicans keep control of the House, which they have done since 2011. Per the U.S. constitution, all house seats are up for election in 2018. Currently, the Republicans hold the majority with 237 representatives compared to the Democrats’ 193. With 218 as the magical number for a majority of the 435-seat chamber, the Republicans currently control the house with a slim margin. In the event that the Democrats take control of the house, a Democratic Representative will replace Ryan. RealClearPolitics tracks all major polls and averages them to make predictions as to who will control the house. These averages suggest that the Democrats have a reasonable chance of taking control of the house.

Photo courtesy of Gage Skidmore/Flickr.