White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus dismissed speculation Sunday that President Trump wants to oust House Speaker Paul D. Ryan over the failure to pass a bill to repeal and replace Obamacare.
“No, he doesn’t,” Mr. Priebus insisted on “Fox News Sunday.”
The speculation about the president’s dissatisfaction with the speaker mounted after Mr. Trump urged his Twitter followers to watch Fox News host Judge Jeanine Pirro’s program on Saturday, in which she opened the show with a call for the removal of Mr. Ryan.
“I think it was more coincidental,” Mr. Priebus said. “There was no pre-planning here.”
The chief of staff said the president’s tweet was solely about promoting Ms. Pirro’s show, “Justice with Judge Jeanine.”
“He love Judge Jeanine and he wanted to do Judge Jeanine a favor,” Mr. Priebus said.
Mr. Priebus reiterated Mr. Trump’s statements from Friday in which he commended Mr. Ryan’s effort on the bill and pledged continued support for him as speaker.
“He doesn’t blame Paul Ryan. He thinks Paul Ryan works really hard,” Mr. Priebus said.
• S.A. Miller can be reached at smiller@washingtontimes.com.
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