Paul Ryan: Convention rules changes up to the delegates

House Speaker Paul Ryan said in a new interview that rules governing the 2016 Republican National Convention are going to be up to the delegates and once again reaffirmed that his name should not be put in for consideration to be the GOP presidential nominee.

Sen. Ted Cruz, for one, has warned against changing a rule passed for the 2012 convention that requires presidential candidates to win a majority of delegates in at least eight states to be considered for the nomination.

Asked if the rules of the 2012 convention should carry over to 2016, Mr. Ryan, who as House speaker serves as chairman of the convention, said it’s not his decision.

“That is going to be up to the delegates. I’m going to be an honest broker, and make sure that the convention follows the rules as the delegates make the rules,” Mr. Ryan told radio host Hugh Hewitt in an interview that aired Monday.

Mr. Ryan was speaking from Israel, where he’s making his first overseas trip as speaker of the House.

“I’m not going to make an opinion or a judgment one way or the other, because it’s their decision, the delegates’ decision, who are the grassroots of the party, by the way,” Mr. Ryan said. “It should not be our decision as leaders. It is the delegates’ decisions. So I’m not going to comment on what these rules look like or not.”

Such a rule could potentially box out an 11th-hour dark horse candidate like Mr. Ryan or 2012 GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney.

Mr. Ryan, though, once again said his name should not be considered.

“But I do believe people put my name in this thing, and I say get my name out of that. This is, if you want to be president, you should go run for president. And that’s just the way I see it,” he said.

Karl Rove, who served as a top strategist for former President George W. Bush, recently suggested on Mr. Hewitt’s show that a “fresh face” could help Republicans defeat Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton in the fall.

“No, I’m not the fresh face. I’m not that person,” Mr. Ryan said. “I’d like to think my face is somewhat fresh, but I’m not for this conversation. I think you need to run for president if you’re going to be president, and I’m not running for president. So period, end of story.”