The political positions of Paul Ryan, the U.S. Representative from Wisconsin's 1st congressional district from 1999 to 2019 and the 54th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2015 to 2019, were generally conservative, with a focus on fiscal policy. Ryan was Chairman of the House Budget Committee from 2011 to 2015 and of Ways and Means in 2015. Ryan was the Republican nominee for Vice President as the running mate of Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election.