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Ryan: 'I Haven't Made a Decision' on a Trump Endorsement

“I haven’t made a decision,” Ryan told reporters in an off-camera briefing Wednesday. “I don’t have a timeline in my mind.”
Image: US-POLITICS-RYAN
US Speaker of the House Paul Ryan addresses his weekly briefing after meeting Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on May 12, 2016.NICHOLAS KAMM / AFP - Getty Images
By Luke Russert and Alex Moe

House Speaker Paul Ryan says that he has not made a decision about endorsing Donald Trump.

“I haven’t made a decision,” Ryan told reporters in an off-camera briefing Wednesday. “I don’t have a timeline in my mind.”

Ryan and Trump are slated to speak by phone Wednesday evening. The two have spoken once directly since meeting in person in Washington D.C. earlier this month.

The comments come after some news outlets reported overnight that Ryan's endorsement of Trump was imminent.

A spokesman for the House Speaker shot down those accounts Wednesday morning, saying "There's no update and we've not told the Trump campaign to expect an endorsement."

Ryan, the leader of the House GOP and the party's pick for vice president in 2012, announced earlier this month that he was "not ready" to endorse Trump. The two men hold competing positions on some key policy issues, including entitlement reform and trade.

But Ryan says his team is working closely with Trump's campaign, saying that the two staffs speak "virtually every day."

Luke Russert

Luke Russert joined NBC News in August 2008 as a correspondent based in Washington, D.C. Russert currently reports from Capitol Hill on the House of Representatives for “Nightly News with Brian Williams,” “TODAY,” MSNBC and NBCNews.com.

Since late 2011 Russert has served as a guest host on various MSNBC programs including: “Way Too Early” “The Daily Rundown with Chuck Todd” “Andrea Mitchell Reports” “NOW with Alex Wagner” and “The Cycle.”

From March 2006-2010, Russert co-hosted the sports radio talk show "60/20 Sports" with political pundit James Carville on Sirius-XM Satellite Radio. On "60/20 Sports" he interviewed the likes of former President Clinton, former President George Bush, Bill Russell, Cal Ripken Jr. and Lance Armstrong.

In May of 2009, Russert was honored with the Marlin Fitzwater Award for Leadership in Public Communication from Franklin Pierce University, an award meant to honor individuals who have made significant contributions to public discourse in the spirit of a healthy democracy. He’s also received an honorary degree from Wingate University in North Carolina.

Russert graduated from Boston College with a double major in history and communications. He is the son of the late Tim Russert and Vanity Fair writer Maureen Orth. Russert lives in Washington, D.C., with his pug Chamberlain.

Alex Moe

Alex Moe is a Capitol Hill producer for NBC News covering the House of Representatives. 

Carrie Dann contributed.