State Assembly Speaker Robin Vos says he won’t run for Congress, even as he downplays allegations of ethics violations connected with a trip to London.
Vos told WISN’s Jay Weber on Friday that he will not run for Congress following the pending departure of House Speaker Paul Ryan. Vos says he’s decided to stay and work for Wisconsin in the state legislature. “I am incredibly proud of the state we’re in. I’m proud that on every single conservative reform that has passed since 2010, I have been in the room, and I’ve been one of the people that helped to make it happen.”
“I’ve decided that I will stay in Wisconsin, stay in the state Assembly, and hope to bring back a very strong conservative majority to show Washington how states can lead and not the reverse,” says Vos.
Democratic State Representative Peter Barca, who held the 1st Assembly seat for one term in the 90s, is said to be considering getting in. There are already two Democrats in the race.
Meanwhile, Vos is also denying that there was any political wrongdoing on his part for taking a trip to London paid for by a political action committee. Vos was among a number of lobbyists and lawmakers from other states who took that trip for free.
Fallout from the trip has already cost Ohio’s Speaker of the House Cliff Rosenberger his job after an FBI investigation.
Vos says he followed state ethics laws in accepting the August trip, and that he hasn’t been contacted by the FBI or other authorities concerning the trip.