Speaker Paul D. Ryan said Wednesday that Republicans are pushing through a domestic policy agenda despite the appearance of chaos inside Washington.
“We’re working on the problems that effect people in their daily lives, and I think it’s very important that people realize that because when they turn on the TV, open up the newspaper — read their phone, they think that everything is just in chaos,” Mr. Ryan said at an Axios event. “It really actually isn’t. We’re determined and focused to get our work done.”
The House speaker did react to Mr. Trump’s comment that former FBI Director James B. Comey was a “nut job” saying, “Yeah I don’t agree with that, and he’s not.” Mr. Ryan also said Mr. Comey had an “impossible” decision to make, but then said, “I think he served his country ably.”
But Mr. Ryan declined to comment further on the investigation into the Trump campaign’s possible Russian ties during the 2016 election.
“I don’t know the veracity of these things, but that’s why we have an investigation. So what I’m not going to do is comment on things that are under ongoing review,” he said.
Mr. Ryan did say Republicans are not slowing down in their ambitious domestic agenda, which includes tax reform, appropriations and continuing to tackle health care, because of the ongoing controversy.
“I would say come January, if we’ve taken 14 regulations off the books that were costing jobs, producing uncertainty, we’ve begun our process of rebuilding our military, we’ve cut people’s taxes and cleaned up the tax system, and we’ve fixed health care from a collapse, that’s pretty good year. That’s a pretty darn good year,” he said.
Now that health care is in the hands of the Senate, Mr. Ryan said the House has moved on to tax and regulatory reform as the next major projects.
“We’re working on tax reform, appropriations, we’re very excited about a regulatory reform agenda. We’re pretty far along in that,” he explained. “So we feel like our regulatory reform agenda has gone very well. That was the first part of our plan because that’s a time-sensitive thing.”
Mr. Ryan said the House still plans to finish tax reform by the end of the calendar year despite taking more time to achieve.
“Tax is going to be a long-year effort because it hasn’t been done since 1986,” he said. “December 23rd, that’s a date I’ll take. We’ve got to get tax reform done by then. We feel confident we’ll do that.
“Our goal is not to have tax reform slip into calendar year 2018.”
Mr. Ryan also said that he wouldn’t want to repeat the health care debacle earlier this year, but he feels it was a necessary experience for Republicans to go through.
“I wouldn’t want to repeat the health care experience, but I’m glad we went through it. It was very cathartic,” he said.
Mr. Ryan said it was necessary for the Republicans to learn that they were now a governing party and not an opposition party.
“Two-thirds of our members came in 2010,” explained Mr. Ryan. “In four months we had to go from being an opposition party to a governing party.”
He also said that Republicans have no choice in taking on health care because Obamacare is collapsing.
“There’s two reasons we wanted to do health care first. The first one was insurers were telling us we need to submit our rates or our plans for 2018 between April 30 and June 30 for the states. So we’re in the middle of that window, and what are we learning in that window? The things is collapsing,” Mr. Ryan said.
“We’re in leadership. We don’t have a choice. We have a majority. The country gave us the responsibility. What are we supposed to do, sit back like politicians do and say this is Obama’s fault?” he said.
The House speaker also acknowledged he and President Trump are very different people, but he was encouraged by Mr. Trump’s eagerness to learn more about policy, especially with health care.
Mr. Ryan reacted to Mr. Trump referring to him as a “boy scout.”
“I took it as a compliment I don’t think it was meant that way. We’re just different people. I’m a Midwest guy, I’m a devout Catholic, I live on the block I grew up on. I just have a different upbringing background. We’re just very different people,” said Mr. Ryan, Wisconsin Republican.
But he said he and the president both agree on policy and have had in-depth policy discussions.
“I’ve never seen a president — this is the fourth one I’ve served with — get so deeply engaged on a person-to-person basis to help achieve a goal. When he sees a goal that he wants to achieve he really focuses on it,” Mr. Ryan said.
When asked about the president’s best qualities, the House speaker responded, “his determination, his lack of pretension, and his willingness and ability to engage members on a one-on-one basis.”
When asked about the Republicans’ chances in 2018, Mr. Ryan said, “I think they’re excellent because we’re in the midst of keeping our promises.”
• Sally Persons can be reached at spersons@washingtontimes.com.
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