House Speaker Paul Ryan on Tuesday promised to keep the House “running at full speed” to pass a Republican change agenda called for by a restive electorate that voted for a Republican-led House, Senate and White House.
“The people gave us unified government,” said Ryan, R-Wis., after he was re-elected House Speaker. “Not because they were feeling generous. They gave it to us because they want results. How can we let them down?”
Ryan delivered a ten minute speech after lawmakers elected him speaker of the 115th Congress with nearly unanimous Republican support. Ryan called November’s GOP sweep of Congress and the White House a “once in a lifetime opportunity,” that many, including himself, only dreamed about.
He acknowledged the stunning electoral upset by President-elect Donald Trump, who swept typically blue rust-belt states where the slumping economy and job exodus have left voters deeply dissatisfied with Washington.
“They have let out a great roar and now, we, their elected representatives must listen,” Ryan said. “I want to say to the American people, ‘We hear you. We will do right by you and we will deliver.'”
Ryan’s remarks followed a speech by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who pledged to work with Republicans when possible, such as on a Trump plan to pay for massive infrastructure projects. But she warned that Democrats will object to many other GOP agenda items, including the plan to repeal Obamacare.
“We will stand our ground wherever in good conscience, we must,” Pelosi said.
Democrats invited former Arizona Representative Gabby Giffords, a Democrat, to sit in the front row on the House floor. Giffords has become a powerful advocate for gun control after a near-fatal shooting in 2011 as she met with constituents.
Democrats last year held a “sit in” on the House floor to try to force the GOP to take up their gun control legislation and they used social media to broadcast their efforts. As a result, Republicans have authored a rules change that would fine lawmakers for recording while on the House floor.
Pelosi suggested Democrats will resist the change.
“If there is an attempt to silence our voices for common-sense gun violence prevention, with Gabby Giffords here in the chamber as our witness, Democrats will stand our ground,” she said.
