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Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-WI) said he believed conservatives have embraced “tribal identity politics,” in the style of leftist community organizer Saul Alinsky. Host John Dickerson asked, “You’ve seen some President Trump’s rallies, do those rallies accentuate the things that unite us or are they — do they do something very successful in politics which is sow division in the country? Do you see that happening at his rallies? Ryan said, “Sometimes, yeah...

House Speaker Paul Ryan, at a private dinner earlier this year, said he thought only “one member” wanted to build a wall across the entire U.S.-Mexico border, Breitbart News has learned from multiple sources with direct knowledge of the comments, including former Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO). The dinner, sources said, took place on the eve of the House’s passage of two relatively minor immigration bills at the end of June: Kate’s Law and sanctuary city reforms. The far wider reaching Davis-Oliver Act was tabled at the same time. “Ryan told a group of Republicans he met with … that only...

House Speaker Paul Ryan on Saturday criticized President Donald Trump for pardoning a former Arizona sheriff, Joe Arpaio, becoming the highest-ranking Republican to object to the move. “The speaker does not agree with the decision,” said Ryan spokesman Doug Andres. “Law-enforcement officials have a special responsibility to respect the rights of everyone in the United States. We should not allow anyone to believe that responsibility is diminished by this pardon.” The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment about Mr. Ryan’s statement. On Friday, the White House announced that the president had pardoned Mr. Arpaio, known as...

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan advised Republicans to run away from candidate Donald Trump before the election in order to save themselves and hold a future-President Hillary Clinton accountable, Republican Rep. Louie Gohmert of Texas revealed in an exclusive video interview with The Daily Caller New Foundation. “Are you crazy? We haven’t held anyone accountable. You haven’t even let us hold the IRS commissioner accountable [for using government power to harm President Obama’s political adversaries],” an astonished Gohmert said to the speaker on a call. Gohmert told TheDCNF he speaks so courageously because he wants the party to succeed...

Host Jake Tapper pointed out that Mr. Trump, during the campaign, promised a “deportation force” to round up the more than 11 million immigrants in the country illegally. Ryan dismissed that idea. “I’m here to tell you in Congress, it’s not happening.” Instead, Ryan said Mr. Trump has asked lawmakers to focus on two priorities with respect to illegal immigration: securing the border and deporting immigrants who are violent, repeat criminals. House GOP lawmakers and aides have also said recently they’re working on how to pay for border security to make good on Mr. Trump’s promise of building a wall...

House Speaker Paul D. Ryan on Wednesday called WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange a “sycophant for Russia,” as Mr. Assange reiterated this week that Russia was not the source for internal communications from Democratic officials during the presidential campaign.

A doctor backed by agriculture and business groups ousted U.S. Rep. Tim Huelskamp Tuesday in a Kansas Republican primary race that focused on the tea party-backed incumbent's battles with GOP leaders and criticism that he was too cantankerous to be effective. Great Bend obstetrician Roger Marshall won the tough contest against Huelskamp in the 1st District, which spans western and much of central Kansas.

On Wednesday, Wisconsin Republican Rep. Paul Ryan, who has supported forms of immigration reform since he was a House staffer in the 1990s, declared that he would "debate anybody" who calls the current bipartisan effort "amnesty." "Earned legalization is not amnesty," Ryan said during a forum on immigration sponsored by the National Association of Manufacturers. "I will debate anybody who tries to suggest that these ideas that are moving through Congress are amnesty. They're not. Amnesty is wiping the slate clean and not paying any penalty for having done something wrong." I think that's a fine position Paul Ryan has...

Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and his GOP leadership team on Monday decided to punt on any gun-related legislation until after the long summer recess. The latest shootings across the country led Republican leaders to believe that debating and voting on contentious gun control bills now would only inflame an already violent situation. The decision means the House, which has been wrestling with gun control legislation for weeks, will not consider bills to prevent suspected terrorists from obtaining guns until at least after its seven-week recess, which is set to begin at the end of this week.

House Republicans are unveiling new proposals to repeal and replace President Barack Obama’s health care law, as Speaker Paul Ryan seeks to showcase a GOP governing agenda amid the tumult of the presidential campaign. The plan, revealed Wednesday, relies on individual tax credits to allow people to buy coverage from private insurers, and includes other largely familiar GOP ideas such as medical liability reform and expanding access to health savings accounts. It proposes putting $25 billion behind high-risk pools for people with pre-existing conditions and for others, and transforming the federal-state Medicaid program for the poor by turning it into...

House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said on Tuesday that immigrants who want to enter the United States as refugees should be thoroughly vetted for security reasons and that religion should play no role in that vetting. “We believe, ultimately, that we ought to have the tools where we have a security test — not a religious test — a security test,” Ryan said at a briefing with reporters at the Capitol, “and we think that’s the preferred route to go.” …

WASHINGTON — Speaker Paul D. Ryan on Tuesday called Donald J. Trump’s criticism of a Hispanic-American judge “the textbook definition of a racist comment” and said he “regrets” the remark. But Mr. Ryan also reiterated his support for Mr. Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, against Hillary Clinton. “I disavow these comments — I regret those comments that he made,” Mr. Ryan said after announcing a new Republican anti-poverty initiative in Anacostia, an overwhelmingly black neighborhood in Washington. “Claiming a person can’t do their job because of their race is sort of like the textbook definition of a racist comment,”...

House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) unveiled what he called the Republicans“ “policy agenda” for 2017 on Wednesday, including a plan to regain the legislative power granted to Congress in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. “Article One,” Ryan said at a pen and pad briefing with reporters at the Capitol, “this is something that our members are very animated about because this has gotten out of control. This is about the separation of powers, about the Constitution, and wresting control away from decades of executive overreach and giving it back to Congress,” he said. Ryan noted that President Barack Obama...

After weeks of delays, House Republicans are moving forward with legislation to help Puerto Rico manage $70 billion in debt. A revised bill introduced late Wednesday would create a control board to help manage the U.S. territory’s financial obligations and oversee some debt restructuring. Though it is the third version of the legislation, those objectives remain unchanged. House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Rob Bishop, R-Utah, has led negotiations on the bill and has worked closely with House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wisc., congressional Democrats and the White House. The aim has been to write legislation that could pass both the House...

House Speaker Paul Ryan concedes the “five-point” Republican legislative agenda he’s pursuing in Congress could be construed as competing with policy points the GOP presidential candidates are pushing in the primary season. But he argues that the party shouldn’t wait until its nominating convention in July to tell the public its priorities, including lowering the national debt, strengthening the military and easing government regulation of business. […] … Ryan adds that the GOP needs “a transition from being an opposition party to being a proposition party.” …

House Speaker Paul Ryan (R.-Wis.) declined to take a position on the North Carolina law that requires people to use the restroom that corresponds with their biological sex or the Mississippi law that protects religious organizations and individuals from being forced to act against their consciences on matters involving same-sex marriage, sex outside marriage or transgenderism. […] … “I’m not going to comment on what various different states are doing. Again, all of our committees that have jurisdiction in this area look at this issue. But it’s not my place to get involved in what each state is doing. To...

In a portion of an interview with Manu Raju that aired on CNN’s “New Day” on Thursday, Speaker of the House Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI)56% discussed his tenure as House Speaker and what he’s doing, including how he is handling the job differently from his predecessor John Boehner. But also, he vowed there would be no government shutdown. “I think I would do it better,” Ryan said. “Not to knock John, but I spend more time with all of our members on a continual basis. And so, because I was a person that wasn’t looking for this job, what I’m...

House Republicans are aiming at the Internal Revenue Service this week, taking up four bills to ensure integrity in hiring and better customer service. “We have recently learned…that IRS employees that have been fired for misconduct have been rehired” in the last several years, Rep. Kristi Noem (R-S.D.) told a news conference on Tuesday. “Now some of this may involve falsifying documents — they failed to pay their own taxes. They may have been fired for accessing sensitive taxpayer information without permission. In fact, one employee had missed up to eight weeks of work without permission, had actually stamped on...

House Speaker Paul Ryan is being challenged in the Republican primary by a Wisconsin businessman who says he once volunteered for the congressman but now feels betrayed. Paul Nehlen, of Delavan, Wisconsin, launched his underdog campaign last week. Nehlen says Ryan is an “establishment politician” who supports out-of-control spending and “dangerous immigration policies.” Ryan’s campaign spokesman Zack Roday declined comment. …

Charles Koch is confident House Speaker Paul Ryan could emerge from the Republican National Convention as the party’s nominee if Donald Trump comes up at least 100 delegates shy, he has told friends privately. Koch believes Ryan would be a “shoo-in” at a contested convention, should the campaign get to that point. Though Koch’s wealth gives him significant influence within the Republican Party, it does not necessarily translate into skill in political prognostication. Still, he and his brother David are fond of Ryan. As a source close to the brothers told The Huffington Post, they appreciate the agenda he has...