Paul Ryan: We’re never going to give up on entitlement reform

House Speaker Paul D. Ryan said Tuesday that House Republicans will never give up on tackling entitlement reform.

“We’re going to go work on the skills gap, to go from welfare to work, to get people the skills they need so they can get in the labor force. And yes, we’re never going to give up on entitlement reform because that at the end of the day is what will get us on the debt,” Mr. Ryan, Wisconsin Republican, said on Fox Business.

He said that they already tried to take on the issue in the health care bill, but said since someone gave it a thumbs down — alluding to Sen. John McCain, Arizona Republican, who made the gesture when he voted against the plan last year — entitlements are still a problem.

“We have to get our other partners in government to be willing to do the kind of entitlement reform that we’re willing to do in the House,” Mr. Ryan said.

President Trump has said he will not touch entitlement reform, but Republicans have argued it’s the mandatory spending requirements in these plans that drive up the budget.

He said he’s happy with the results of the tax plan, and companies and their workers are seeing tangible benefits.

“We had the worst tax code in the industrial world before tax reform. Now, we have one of the best tax codes in the industrial world because of tax reform,” Mr. Ryan said.