Paul Ryan Says He’ll Run for House Speaker — But Only If the GOP Unites Behind Him

After weeks of speculation and pressure from the Republican party, Wisconsin Representative Paul Ryan announced on Tuesday that he is willing to serve as speaker of the House — but only if all of the major GOP caucuses unite behind him.

Ryan's spokesman Brendan Buck said in a statement that he is giving the House Republican Conference until Friday to reach a consensus.

"If the members agree with his requests and share his vision, and if he is a unity candidate — with the endorsement of all the conference's major caucuses — then he will serve as speaker. He will be all in," Buck said.

The announcement came after a meeting with members of the Freedom Caucus, a group of hardline House Republicans that has wielded enormous power in recent weeks, and whose support Ryan said he would need before he would even consider leading the party.

Republicans in the House of Representatives have desperately been looking for someone to fill the top leadership position since John Boehner announced plans to step down last month. Much of the disarray has come from the Freedom Caucus, which worked to oust Boehner and endorsed Representative Kevin McCarthy to take his place.

McCarthy abruptly withdrew his candidacy for the position about two weeks ago after the Freedom Caucus turned on him. It soon became clear that no one else wanted the job.

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Boehner had planned to retire on October 30, but he has since agreed to stay until a new speaker is elected. The federal budget is set to expire in two weeks, and if Republicans do not pick a speaker in time, Congress would come to a standstill and the government would shut down.

Ryan quickly emerged as the reasonable next choice for the position, despite the fact that he initially made it clear that he had no interest in the job. Less than an hour after Boehner said he was stepping down, Ryan made his own statement saying that he had no plans to run for the speakership.

But over the past several weeks, Republicans have pleaded for Ryan to take the job, with many in the GOP saying he is the best — and perhaps last — chance to unite the party. Ryan reportedly spent last week's congressional recess mulling the move in his native Wisconsin.

"He feels the pull of the country — people encouraging him and saying he'd be a great choice," Representative Reid Ribble, a fellow Republican from Wisconsin, told ABC News.

"But he also feels the pull of his family, and his passions," Ribble added.

In 2012, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney picked Ryan as his vice presidential nominee. Ryan is currently the chairman of the House Ways and Means committee.

Follow Olivia Becker on Twitter: @obecker928