Paul Ryan, Getty Images
Paul Ryan, Mitt RomneyGetty Images
Wisconsin-- The world now knows who Romney's choice for a running mate.
The news that Paul Ryan, a US Rep. out of Wisconsin was the choice was announced early Saturday via an iphone App and later in a news conference in Norfolk, VA..
Who is he? The 42 year-old is a generation younger than the 65-year-old Romney. Ryan is best known as the chairman of the House Budget Committee and author of a dramatic plan to overhaul Medicare, the government-run health insurance program for senior citizens.
In an interview on Thursday, Romney said he was looking for someone with "a strength of character" and "a vision for the country that adds something to the political discourse about the direction of the country."
With Ryan as his running mate, Romney appears ready to have a national conversation about federal spending and the growth of entitlements with one of the GOP's leading budget authorities at his side.
Ryan, a House member since 1999, has proposed to overhaul both Medicare and Medicaid, the programs that have been a hallmark of the nation's compact to provide health care to senior citizens and the poor. Under his plan, Medicare would be run by private insurers while Medicaid would be turned over to the states.
Paul Ryan's Website
His goal, he said, was to leave "a debt-free nation" to the next generation. "At stake is America," he said last year.
Ryan's budget plan has been widely criticized by President Obama and his fellow Democrats, who contend it would "end Medicare as we know it." Obama has called Ryan's plan "thinly veiled social Darwinism."
With much speculation focused on Ohio Sen. Rob Portman and ex-Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty, the 42-year-old Ryan got a big boost from conservatives this week.
The Wall Street Journal, whose editorial page holds sway among conservatives, said choosing Ryan would underscore "the nature and stakes of this election."
According to his website, Ryan and his wife Janna live in Janesville with their children, daughter Liza and sons Charlie and Sam. He is a member of St. John Vianney's Parish.
CBS: 9 Things To Know About Paul Ryan