Two former lawmakers who know Paul Ryan, R-Wis., say he won't be exiting his job as House speaker, The Washington Post reported.
"The idea that he's going to walk out of there in the middle of the fight is ludicrous," said John Boehner, who was speaker before Ryan took the job.
"Absolutely not … the notion that Paul Ryan is just going to abdicate and leave is preposterous," Eric Cantor, former Virginia congressman and Republican House majority leader, told the Post.
Rumors about Ryan departing had been circulating among Republican lawmakers.
Ryan's aides said, "the speaker is not resigning," the Post reported.
The speaker is 48 and was drafted into the position. Ryan passed a tax code overhaul, his main policy position, in December.
He is House Republicans' top fundraiser and chief spokesman, and Boenher believes his exit could lead to other lawmakers also taking their leave ahead of the 2018 midterm elections, the Post reported.
Boehner and Cantor stress that Ryan will stay.
"Paul's a stand-up guy," Boehner said. "He's going to be the leader of the team all the way through the election."
If Republicans keep the House majority in the midterms, Ryan could exit then, but most insiders agree that Ryan would have little interest in being minority leader if Republicans fail to keep the majority in the House, the Post reported.
In January, Ryan did not commit to running for re-election in Wisconsin.
"That's something that my wife and I always decide in late spring of the election year," Ryan said in January on CBS' "Face the Nation," the Post reported.
The deadline for Ryan to run again is June 1, according to the report.