House Republicans are pushing ahead with their plan to produce a comprehensive agenda and are consulting with Republican candidates about their plans, including front-runner Donald Trump, Speaker Paul Ryan said Tuesday.
“Trump called us, we called him back and walked him through our agenda project,” Ryan, R-Wis., told reporters Tuesday. “I then spoke to Ted [Cruz], Marco [Rubio] and John [Kasich]. I walked them through our agenda project. And we got very good reception from all of the candidates, including Trump.”
With Trump’s surging candidacy headed toward a likely nomination, Ryan said House Republicans are focused on their plans to pass a budget and produce proposals to create jobs and rein in executive branch actions they oppose.
“Republican primary voters are going to make their decision,” Ryan said, when asked about the Trump juggernaut. “This isn’t our decision to make.”
Ryan repeated his view, which he outlined in a Monday radio interview, that protesters were the instigators in recent Trump rally unrest.
But he suggested Trump should also tone down his rhetoric, which has included calls for his supporters to fight back against protesters who disrupt his rallies.
“It’s pretty clear there is a concerted effort by people on the left to disrupt these rallies and there needs to be condemnation of that,” Ryan said. “But all candidates have an obligation to do what they can do to provide an atmosphere of harmony, to reduce violence and not incite violence.”
