President Obama hopes newly minted House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., is willing to work with Democrats to finish the “barn-cleaning” that out-going Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, started but didn’t complete, a White House spokesman said shortly after Ryan officially succeeded Boehner to become the 54th House speaker.
Citing cybersecurity, federal transportation funding, the pending Trans-Pacific Partnership and criminal justice reform, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Congress has a full plate.
But “none of it is going to get done if there is a renewed commitment on the part of Republicans to try to pass those priority items along party lines,” Earnest said.
“[W]e’re in an era of divided government,” Earnest said. “Democrats and Republicans are going to have to work together to make progress on those priorities of the American people. And if Republicans in Congress are interested in doing that, if the new speaker of the House is interested in doing that, they will certainly find a willing partner in the Oval Office.”
Earnest pointed to Tuesday’s House passage of legislation reauthorizing the Export-Import Bank, whose charter expired in June, and Senate passage of an information-sharing bill relating to cybersecurity as good examples of Democrats and Republicans working together.
Earnest credited Ryan for helping grant presidents fast-track authority and said Obama is hopeful that Ryan can be counted on again to win congressional approval of TPP.
“[W]hen it’s time for Congress to weigh in on the TPP agenda, we hope that we’d be able to work effectively with the speaker’s office to build that bipartisan majority and build support for that bill,” Earnest said.
