Tag: Paul Ryan

When Paul Ryan leaves government, the federal deficit will be $1.2 trillion higher than when he arrived

The following article of Philip Bump was posted on the Washington Post website July 25, 2018:

House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) made a name for himself as a deficit hawk, but backed a tax plan and a spending bill that are ballooning the national debt. (Video: Jenny Starrs/Photo: Matt McClain/The Washington Post)

One fun thing about the Nexis online news archive at Nexis is that you can search for how many times certain people have been described in certain ways in news reports. For example, one can learn that, since June 2008, Paul Ryan has been called a “deficit hawk” more than 400 times in English-language news reports. The first included in the index is an article from Roll Call titled, “Ryan Campaigns for Fiscal Fitness” — sadly written before Time magazine snapped some of the most iconic imagesof any legislator in history.

The House speaker is a deficit hawk, you see, because of his long-standing crusade for lower federal budget deficits. It has been the cause with which the Wisconsin Republican has been associated for most of his career since getting to Capitol Hill in 1999 — cutting spending and bringing the budget under control.

However, Bloomberg’s Steven Dennis made an interesting observation about Ryan’s tenure on Twitter.

View the complete article here.

Paul Ryan Says Trump is Trolling Obama Officials

The following article by Lindsey McPherson was posted on the Roll Call website July 24, 2018:

Speaker Ryan, R-WI., said President Trump is trolling people, but he said it was honest. His claim runs a little at odds of the definition of trolling. Credit: Bill Clark, CQ Roll Call

Speaker addresses issue in context of threats to revoke security clearances

In a rare political moment, the speaker of the House on Tuesday accused the president of the United States of trolling people. But his description is a bit off for the issue he was addressing.

Speaker Paul D. Ryan was asked during a news conference whether he thinks threats by President Donald Trump to revoke security clearances of former Obama administration officials is dangerous.

“I think he’s trolling people, honestly,” Ryan said.

View the complete article here.

Paul Ryan splits with Trump, says ‘no evidence’ FBI spied on president’s campaign

The following article by Karoun Demirjian and Mike DeBonis was posted on the Washington Post website June 6, 2018:

House Speaker Paul D. Ryan has joined those disputing President Trump’s assertion that federal law enforcement planted a spy inside his campaign, telling reporters Wednesday that he has seen “no evidence” to support such claims.

Ryan (R-Wis.) described as “accurate” an initial assessment offered last week by Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), chairman of the House Oversight Committee, who told Fox News that “the FBI did exactly what my fellow citizens would want them to do” in investigating information alleging certain Trump campaign advisers had suspicious ties to Russia. Continue reading “Paul Ryan splits with Trump, says ‘no evidence’ FBI spied on president’s campaign”

Dissecting House Speaker Ryan’s remarks on deficits and spending

The following article by Glenn Kessler was posted on the Washington Post website April 18, 2018:

House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) made a name for himself as a deficit hawk, but backed a tax plan and a spending bill that are ballooning the national debt. (Video: Jenny Starrs/Photo: Matt McClain/The Washington Post)

“That was going to happen — the baby boomers retiring was going do that. These deficit — trillion-dollar projections have been out there for a long, long time. Why? Because of mandatory spending, which we call entitlements. Discretionary spending under the CBO baseline is going about $300 billion over the next 10 years. Tax revenues are still rising, income tax revenues are still rising, corporate income tax revenues — corporate rate got dropped 30 percent, still rising. Mandatory spending, which is entitlements, that grows $2 trillion over the next decade. Why does it grow $2 trillion? Because the boomer generation is retiring and we have not prepared these programs.”
— House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.), in remarks on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” April 15, 2018

Speaker Paul D. Ryan, who has announced his retirement, made these comments in response to a jab by host Chuck Todd at the longtime fiscal hawk: “You walk away with trillion-dollar deficits as far as the eye can see.” Continue reading “Dissecting House Speaker Ryan’s remarks on deficits and spending”

As He Departs, Paul Ryan Will Leave A Residue Of Failure And Fraud

The following article by Joe Conason was posted on the National Memo website April 11, 2018:

Evidently realizing that he might drown in the blue wave that is inundating Wisconsin, Paul Ryan announced his retirement today.

He has suggested that he might quit before, but now the Speaker faces the real prospect of involuntary ejection from Congress. He is showing the white feather, running from a midterm fight that his party appears increasingly likely to lose. Continue reading “As He Departs, Paul Ryan Will Leave A Residue Of Failure And Fraud”

Fiscal hawk Ryan leaves behind growing deficits and a changed GOP

The following article by Erica Warner was posted on the Washington Post website April 11, 2018:

House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) made a name for himself as a deficit hawk, but backed a tax plan and a spending bill that are ballooning the national debt. (Video: Jenny Starrs/Photo: Matt McClain/The Washington Post)

Mitt Romney was all smiles as he introduced an ebullient Rep. Paul D. Ryan to the nation as his Republican vice presidential choice on a sunny Saturday in Norfolk in the summer of 2012.

“I did not make a mistake with this guy,” Romney boasted, as Ryan proclaimed himself “deeply honored and excited.” The crowd cheered. Continue reading “Fiscal hawk Ryan leaves behind growing deficits and a changed GOP”

House Republicans Are Realizing Premature End to Russia Probe Made Them Look Ridiculous: Report

The following article by Cody Fenwick was posted on the AlterNet website March 15, 2018:

By contradicting the CIA and FBI, the House Intelligence Committee damaged its credibility.

House Republicans appear to be realizing that they undermined their credibility when they reported their conclusions about the Russia investigation this week.

According to a report from Politico, aides to House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) had to corral the communications staffers of House Republicans after Intelligence Committee members discussed their widely criticized conclusions on the investigation into 2016 election meddling. Continue reading “House Republicans Are Realizing Premature End to Russia Probe Made Them Look Ridiculous: Report”

Senate Intelligence Leaders Say House G.O.P. Leaked a Senator’s Texts

The following article by Nicholas Fandos was posted on the New York Times website March 1, 2018:

Senator Richard M. Burr, right, and Senator Mark Warner, the leaders of the Senate Intelligence Committee. Credit Andrew Harnik/Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The Senate Intelligence Committee has concluded that Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee were behind the leak of private text messages between the Senate panel’s top Democrat and a Russian-connected lawyer, according to two congressional officials briefed on the matter.

Senator Richard M. Burr of North Carolina, the committee’s Republican chairman, and Senator Mark Warner of Virginia, the top Democrat, were so perturbed by the leak that they demanded a rare meeting with Speaker Paul D. Ryan last month to inform him of their findings. They used the meeting with Mr. Ryan to raise broader concerns about the direction of the House Intelligence Committee under its chairman, Representative Devin Nunes of California, the officials said. Continue reading “Senate Intelligence Leaders Say House G.O.P. Leaked a Senator’s Texts”

Five key takeaways from the Russian indictments

The following article by Niall Stanage was posted on the Hill website February 17, 2018:

Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein Credit: Mary Turner/Reuters

New indictments of 13 Russians who allegedly meddled in the 2016 election set the political world abuzz on Friday.

The charges were first posted on the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) website but were fleshed out by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosensteinat a hastily convened news conference.

What are the key political ramifications from the new charges?

Fire and fury from Trump?

President Trump is hypersensitive to any suggestion that his victory over Hillary Clinton in 2016 was illegitimate. These new indictments are sure to get under his skin for precisely that reason. Continue reading “Five key takeaways from the Russian indictments”

Paul Ryan’s 3 Years Of Arguing Against ‘Knee-Jerk’ Reactions To Shootings

The following article by Mary Papenfuss was posted on the Huffington Post website February 15, 2018:

His biggest fear: taking away gun rights.

House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) has been arguing against what he calls a “knee-jerk” political response to mass shootings for years.

MSNBC’s Chris Hayes presented a video mashup Thursday of the times Ryan has argued against “taking away” America’s gun rights. Continue reading “Paul Ryan’s 3 Years Of Arguing Against ‘Knee-Jerk’ Reactions To Shootings”