Tag: Paul Ryan

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New Book: Paul Ryan Retired To “Escape” Trump

A new book, titled "American Carnage" by Tim Alberta, offers even more insight into why Republicans who once loathed Donald Trump made their deal with the devil to get what they want. One passage quotes former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, who says he saw retirement from politics as an "escape hatch."
Former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan

A new book, titled “American Carnage” by Tim Alberta, offers even more insight into why Republicans who once loathed Donald Trump made their deal with the devil to get what they want.

One passage quotes former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, who says he saw retirement from politics as an “escape hatch.”

Via the Washington Post:

Now out of office and trading in his power suits for a blue vest, Ryan is back to critiquing Trump in unflattering terms in conversations with Alberta, who writes the former speaker could not stand the idea of another two years with the president and saw retirement as the “escape hatch.”

“We’ve gotten so numbed by it all,” Ryan says. “Not in government, but where we live our lives, we have a responsibility to try and rebuild. Don’t call a woman a ‘horse face.’ Don’t cheat on your wife. Don’t cheat on anything. Be a good person. Set a good example.”

“I told myself I gotta have a relationship with this guy to help him get his mind right,” Ryan recalls. “Because, I’m telling you, he didn’t know anything about government . . . I wanted to scold him all the time.”

[snip]

In Alberta’s telling, Trump offers perks to gain support, threatens foes with the wrath of his supporters and makes cold, narcissistic calculations to keep power.

“Those f—ing evangelicals,” Trump says in a meeting with GOP lawmakers, according to the book, smiling and shaking his head. In Trump’s mind, Alberta writes, he would “give them the policies and the access to authority that they longed for. In return they would stand behind him unwaveringly.”

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Trump Attacks Paul Ryan Over Birthright Citizenship

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan

President Donald Trump aimed his Twitter account at Speaker of the House Paul Ryan on today, saying Ryan “knows nothing” about birthright citizenship.

This comes after Trump shared in an interview with Axios that he plans to sign an executive order eliminating the right to citizenship for children born in the United States.

Doing so would obviously clash with the 14th Amendment.

In an interview with radio station WVLK on Tuesday, Ryan responded to Trump’s announcement, saying he “obviously cannot do that.”

“Well, you obviously cannot do that,” Ryan said. “You cannot end birthright citizenship with an executive order. We didn’t like it when Obama tried changing immigration laws via executive action, and obviously as conservatives, we believe in the Constitution.”

The Trumpster clapped back on Twitter.

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Congress Responds To Trump’s Woeful Putin Press Conference

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan

After Donald Trump’s embarrassing performance at a press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin today in Helsinki, some Congressional leaders are speaking out.

Some are more forceful than others.

We have this feckless drivel from Republican Speaker of the House Paul Ryan via press release:

“There is no question that Russia interfered in our election and continues attempts to undermine democracy here and around the world. That is not just the finding of the American intelligence community but also the House Committee on Intelligence. The president must appreciate that Russia is not our ally. There is no moral equivalence between the United States and Russia, which remains hostile to our most basic values and ideals. The United States must be focused on holding Russia accountable and putting an end to its vile attacks on democracy.”

There’s this from Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr (R) who basically sidesteps the issue of Trump:

“The Senate Intelligence Committee has reviewed the 2017 IC (intelligence community) assessment and found no reason to doubt its conclusion that President Putin ordered an influence campaign aimed at the 2016 U.S. elections with the goal of undermining faith in our democratic process. Russia has conducted a coordinated cyberattack on state election systems, and hacked critical infrastructure. They have used social media to sow chaos and discord in our society.

“They have beaten and harassed U.S. diplomats and violated anti-proliferation treaties. Any statement by Vladimir Putin contrary to these facts is a lie and should be recognized as one by the President.

“Vladimir Putin is not our friend and never has been. Nor does he want to be our friend. His regime’s actions prove it. We must make clear that the United States will not tolerate hostile Russian activities against us or our allies.”

On the other side of the aisle, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York (D) offered this:

“What could possibly cause President Trump to put the interests of Russia over those of the United States? Millions of Americans will continue to wonder if the only possible explanation for this dangerous behavior is the possibility that President Putin holds damaging information over President Trump. For the president of the United States to side with President Putin against American law enforcement, American defense officials, and American intelligence agencies is thoughtless, dangerous, and weak. The president is putting himself over our country.”

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Speaker Of The House Paul Ryan Announces He Will Not Run For Re-Election

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan

Confirming months of rumors, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan announced this morning that he will not run for re-election in the November mid-term elections.

From The New York Times:

Mr. Ryan said he will serve until the end of this Congress in January, which will mark 20 years in Congress. He insisted he will be “leaving this majority in good hands with what I believe is a very bright future.”

But his retirement, at the age of 48, is sure to kick off a succession battle for the leadership of the House Republican Conference, likely between the House majority leader, Kevin McCarthy of California, and the House majority whip, Steve Scalise of Louisiana. And it could also trigger another wave of retirements among Republicans not eager to face angry voters in the fall and taking their cue from Mr. Ryan.

The announcement from Ryan marked the 40th House Republican to signal retirement ahead of what looks like a tough mid-term election cycle for the GOP. Only 19 Democrats have announced they won’t seek re-election.

Coming just an hour after Ryan, GOP Rep. Dennis Ross of Florida also declared his time in Congress would come to an end after the mid-terms.

Many political experts posit that after finally achieving his lifelong dream of tax reform, Ryan had no appetite to return to the minority should the Democrats retake control of the House this fall.

The front-runner for the GOP nomination for Ryan’s seat is apparently an anti-Semitic, white supremacist named Paul Nehlen. According to ThinkProgress.com he’s been kicked off Twitter and Breitbart for his offensive chatter.

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That Time When Paul Ryan Deleted His $1.50 Tweet

When Speaker of the House Paul Ryan tweeted the news that a woman wrote to him about her $1.50 increase in her weekly paycheck thanks to the Trump Tax Cuts, he immediately tweeted it out as proof of what a wonderful success the new tax law is.

Except, of course, corporations and the wealthy are reaping much, much bigger windfalls.

The tweet showed Ryan being out of touch with middle America and the media could not stop themselves from pointing this up.

Ryan eventually deleted the tweet.

#sad

Watch below.

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Rumors Flying That Speaker Of The House Paul Ryan Will Leave Congress In 2018

First, Politico reported this on Speaker of the House Paul Ryan’s eventual departure from Congress:

Despite several landmark legislative wins this year, and a better-than-expected relationship with President Donald Trump, Ryan has made it known to some of his closest confidants that this will be his final term as speaker. He consults a small crew of family, friends and staff for career advice, and is always cautious not to telegraph his political maneuvers. But the expectation of his impending departure has escaped the hushed confines of Ryan’s inner circle and permeated the upper-most echelons of the GOP. In recent interviews with three dozen people who know the speaker—fellow lawmakers, congressional and administration aides, conservative intellectuals and Republican lobbyists—not a single person believed Ryan will stay in Congress past 2018.

Then came this denial, via The Hill:

Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) says he’s not quitting Congress anytime soon. Asked at the end of his weekly press conference whether he was leaving Congress “soon,” Ryan chuckled and replied as he walked off the stage: “I’m not, no.”

Rumors have been swirling for weeks that Ryan — who this October marked his second year in the Speaker’s office — could resign from Congress shortly after passing his No. 1 legislative priority: tax reform.

The House and Senate are expected to pass a final version of their historic tax-cuts bill next week, with President Trump planning to sign it into law by Christmas Day.

Watch the reporting from CNN today below:

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Paul Ryan: Roy Moore Should Step Aside “If He Cares About The Values He Claims To Care About”

Paul Ryan

Republican leaders have made it clear they are done with Alabama Republican Roy Moore.

First, it was Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell who dropped the “if true” phrase from his denunciations of Moore.

And then this morning, in the aftermath of a fifth woman coming forward with allegations of sexual impropriety regarding Moore, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan definitively told reporters Moore should stand down as the GOP nominee for U.S. Senate in Alabama.

“He should step aside,” Ryan said during the press conference. “Number one, these allegations are credible. Number two, if he cares about the values and people that he claims to care about, then he should step aside.”

Watch below.

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Paul Ryan: The President Wanted To Have A “Bipartisan Moment”

Donald Trump

Via the NY Times:

President Trump struck a deal with Democratic congressional leaders on Wednesday to increase the debt limit and finance the government until mid-December, blindsiding his own Republican allies as he reached across the aisle to resolve a major dispute for the first time since taking office.

The agreement would avert a fiscal showdown later this month without the bloody, partisan battle that many had anticipated by combining a debt ceiling increase and stopgap spending measure with relief aid to Texas and other areas devastated by Hurricane Harvey. But without addressing the fundamental underlying issues, it set up the prospect for an even bigger clash at the end of the year.

In embracing the three-month deal, Mr. Trump accepted a Democratic proposal that had been rejected earlier in the day by Speaker Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin. Mr. Trump’s snap decision at a White House meeting caught Republican leaders off guard and reflected friction between the president and his party. After weeks of criticizing Republican leaders for failing to pass legislation, Mr. Trump signaled that he was willing to cross party lines to score some much-desired legislative victories.

Speaker Ryan told reporters today that Donald Trump’s surprise agreement with Democratic leaders was about having a “bipartisan moment” as the country faces down two massive hurricanes and more.

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Paul Ryan “Hopes” Congress Can Help Those “Who Have Done Nothing Wrong”

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan has issued a statement regarding Donald Trump’s rescission of DACA.

Via press release:

However well-intentioned, President Obama’s DACA program was a clear abuse of executive authority, an attempt to create law out of thin air. Just as the courts have already struck down similar Obama policy, this was never a viable long-term solution to this challenge.

Congress writes laws, not the president, and ending this program fulfills a promise that President Trump made to restore the proper role of the executive and legislative branches.

But now there is more to do, and the president has called on Congress to act. The president’s announcement does not revoke permits immediately, and it is important that those affected have clarity on how this interim period will be carried out.

At the heart of this issue are young people who came to this country through no fault of their own, and for many of them it’s the only country they know. Their status is one of many immigration issues, such as border security and interior enforcement, which Congress has failed to adequately address over the years.

It is my hope that the House and Senate, with the president’s leadership, will be able to find consensus on a permanent legislative solution that includes ensuring that those who have done nothing wrong can still contribute as a valued part of this great country.

Don’t hold your breath, folks. Republicans have blocked such reforms for over a decade.

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Paul Ryan Opposes Ending DACA Policy, Urges Legislative Fix

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan

House Speaker Paul Ryan on Friday gave hope to those who support DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals), a program instituted by President Barack Obama that protects from deportation undocumented immigrants who were brought to America by their parents before their 16th birthday.

During a radio interview, Ryan urged Donald Trump to not rescind the policy.

Ryan offered his take while talking to his hometown radio station WCLO in Janesville, Wisconsin. Ryan said Congress is currently working on a legislative fix to preserve the program.

“I actually don’t think he should do that,” Ryan said of Trump’s consideration of terminating the program. “I believe that this is something that Congress has to fix.”

Trump told reporters Friday he was still mulling the decision. The White House press secretary said a decision would be announced Tuesday.

There are over 800,000 current enrollees. Folks are accepted based on whether they have a clean record, good grades in school and strong ties to the community.