The great Congressional exodus of 2018 continues with Speaker Paul Ryan’s announcement that he will retire at the end of his term. In what seems like an apt metaphor for his recent tenure, President Trump lauded the exiting speaker in between Tweets threatening Russia with missile attacks and rants about Robert Mueller and the Justice Department. The never-ending madness alone makes this a decent time for Ryan to trickle down and out.

+ FiveThirtyEight: Paul Ryan gave up one of the most powerful jobs in politics. It totally makes sense.

+ Ronald Brownstein sums it up: “Paul Ryan, who once aspired to advance the vision of conservative icon Jack Kemp, will leave Washington carrying a more tarnished legacy—as the most important enabler of Donald Trump.”

+ For a long time, Paul Ryan has been dedicated to the kinds of tax cuts he helped pass. But he was also a deficit hawk who leaves America with one that is exploding. Derek Thompson on the legacy of a speaker who was all about the economy.