HOT SPRINGS, VIRGINIA- Over the weekend, Speaker Paul Ryan spoke to major lobbyists and donors, assuring them that, despite the GOP’s instability in Congress, the Republican agenda is on track. Laying out a timeline for several key policy goals, Ryan asserted that investigations and controversies surrounding the Trump administration have not damaged the party’s agenda.
Ryan made these assurances at his yearly “Team Ryan” retreat at the Homestead Resort in Virginia. Though the Republican party has largely failed to accomplish many of its policy goals, the Speaker is trying to show a confident face.
Max Greenwood at The Hill reports:
Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) reportedly reassured GOP donors and lobbyists over the weekend that the Republican Party’s agenda is on track, and laid out a fast-track timeline for some of the party’s most critical policy objectives.
According to Politico Playbook, Ryan said at the Omni Homestead Resort in Virginia that he expects the Senate to pass the GOP healthcare measure ahead of Congress’s July 4 recess.
Tax reform, he added, would be passed by the year’s end, as would a series of bills aimed at repairing and revamping the nation’s infrastructure, the news outlet reported.
Ryan’s comments, made at his annual “Team Ryan” summer retreat, come amid concerns by some Republicans that the party’s agenda has largely been derailed by ongoing controversies surrounding the special counsel investigation into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.
At least four congressional committees are also probing the matter.
The high-profile investigations, some GOP lawmakers say, have distracted Congress from making inroads on key campaign promises, such as the longstanding vow to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.
Read more at The Hill.
