Ryan nabs top Romney money man

GOP fundraiser Spencer Zwick, who pulled in nearly $1 billion for Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign, will serve as new Speaker Paul Ryan’s national finance chairman, the Wisconsin Republican said Monday.

The two know each other from the last White House race, when Romney tapped Ryan as his vice presidential running mate.

Matt Waldrip, a longtime aide to Zwick, will serve as a senior adviser. And Lauren Hamel, who was deputy finance director for former Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), is signing on as finance director for Team Ryan, the name given to the Speaker’s joint fundraising efforts that include his leadership PAC.

“I’m honored that Spencer is willing to help me setup a finance network that puts House Republicans in a position to defend and expand our majority,” Ryan said in a statement. “His track record of developing successful political operations speaks for itself, and I have the utmost respect for Spencer.”

News about Zwick joining Team Ryan was first reported by Bloomberg News.

Ryan’s ability to tap into Zwick’s broad fundraising network should ease concerns from Republicans who’ve worried about whether the new Speaker would be able to replicate the fundraising efforts of his predecessor, who traveled the country most weekends raking in hundreds of millions of dollars for House Republicans and the GOP. As a condition of agreeing to serve as Speaker, Ryan said he would spend his weekends at home with his wife and young children in Janesville, Wis., rather than jetting around the country attending fundraisers.

Ryan previously announced that two top aides would be leading Team Ryan. Kevin Seifert, Ryan’s chief of staff in Washington, was named executive director, while Jake Kasten was tapped as deputy executive director.