Donald Trump’s incoming chief strategist and senior counselor, Steve Bannon, has described House speaker Paul Ryan as the “enemy” and has called for his removal from the speakership. But Ryan said at the Capitol Tuesday he is moving past that criticism and called on his fellow Republicans to “look forward.”
“I’m not looking backwards, I’m looking forward,” Ryan told reporters when asked about Bannon’s past comments. “I’m looking forward to how we make this work for the American people, how we help president-elect Trump be the most successful president in our lifetimes.”
“Our job is not to look backwards, our job is to look forwards,” he said again.
House Republicans told THE WEEKLY STANDARD Monday that they were not concerned that tension between Bannon and Ryan would drive a wedge between the White House and Congress.
“I can’t control that, nor can I fix or address it. I’m really indifferent to it,” Utah congressman Jason Chaffetz, chairman of the House Oversight committee, told TWS when asked about Bannon’s animosity toward Ryan. “We gotta do what we gotta do.”
Ryan also said Sunday that he had “no concerns” about a then-potential White House role for Bannon.
The news site Breitbart, where Bannon is currently on leave as executive chairman, has been openly disdainful of Ryan and has accused him of essentially campaigning for Hillary Clinton.
