The GOP circle of life: Former House Speaker Paul Ryan joins board of Fox News’ parent company

Former House Speaker Paul Ryan has been appointed to the board of Fox Corp., which is now the parent company of right-wing cable news outlets Fox News and Fox Business as well as several sports channels.

Fox Corp., according to CNBC, has announced that the Wisconsin Republican is joining the Fox Corp. board along with figures in the business world, including Formula One CEO Chase Carey, Anne Dias (founder of the investment firm Aragon Global Holdings) and Roland Hernandez (CEO of Hernandez Media Ventures).

In an official statement, Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch, son of Fox Corp. board member and media mogul Rupert Murdoch, said, “We look forward to working with and being guided by them as we begin a new chapter, steadfastly committed to providing the best in news, sports and entertainment programming.”

The 49-year-old Ryan served as House speaker until early January, when a new Democratic majority was seated in the House of Representatives. Ryan did not seek reelection in 2018; although he claimed he was retiring from Congress because he wanted to spend more time with his family, many pundits asserted that a more plausible explanation was that he feared Democrats would regain the House—which they did with a net gain of 40 seats.

Ryan has been mentioned as a possible GOP presidential candidate for 2024.

Editor's note: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated American investor Ken Griffin is a member of the board of Fox Corp. This article has been updated to remove his name.