Former speaker of the House Paul Ryan said Tuesday that freshman Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez didn’t “really listen” to any of the advice he gave her about being a member of Congress.
When asked about the outspoken representative during an event in his hometown of Janesville, Wisconsin, the Republican said “I don’t think she really listened to a thing I said, you know, ’just take it easy, just watch things for a while,’” according to GazetteXtra. Like Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, Mr. Ryan was in his late 20s when first elected to the House.
But far from taking it easy, the New York Democrat has become one of the most vocal members of the Democratic party, submitting ambitious policies like the Green New Deal and providing outspoken statements during committee hearings and on Twitter.
Mr. Ryan served as a representative for 20 years and was speaker of the House from October 2015 until his retirement in January 2019.
During his tenure, he helped pass major tax cuts and approved a Pentagon spending boost, but has said reforms to immigration and health care were “the two big things that got away” from him while he was speaker.
• Bailey Vogt can be reached at bvogt@washingtontimes.com.
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