Conservatives who oppose the spending package presented this week by Speaker Paul Ryan are willing to give their new boss a pass so far, even though the Democrat-friendly deal might have led to a revolt under his predecessor, John Boehner.
“I know Paul Ryan is more likely to get this through than if Boehner stayed around,” Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., told the Washington Examiner. “Because everyone is going to give him a little extra room to get over this first hump.”
For conservatives, there is little to like in the $1.1 trillion package. It busts mandatory spending caps by $80 billion over two years, and excludes policy riders that were conservative priorities, including a halt to President Obama’s Syrian refugee resettlement program and and end to taxpayer funding of Planned Parenthood.
The deal also raises the caps for H-2B visas, which will allow in more low-wage foreign workers much to the dismay of conservatives, who say the provision constitutes a major change to immigration law.
In fact, the spending legislation may be a bigger victory for Democrats, who won a $40 billion increase in domestic spending without having to swallow GOP-favored policy riders. The bill is expected to pass on Friday, but only with significant help from Democrats.
But conservative Republicans who plan to vote against the deal say they don’t blame Ryan, who took over the gavel only a few weeks ago.
While Ryan was the chief negotiator of the final deal, the top line spending amounts were the work of Boehner, R-Ohio, who struck an agreement with Democrats and the White House before he left office on Oct. 30.
“I think John Boehner is the one that charted this course and sailed this ship to the place where we are now,” Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, who plans to vote against the spending bill, told the Examiner.
Ryan met with lawmakers several times this week to discuss the emerging terms of the deal, telling Republicans privately that it wasn’t the kind of accord he supported. Next year, he pledged, lawmakers would pass spending bills individually, rather than rolling them up into one omnibus spending package.
“I think we played our cards the best we could, given the cards we were given, given the situation we inherited,” Ryan said after Wednesday’s GOP meeting.
Ryan’s management style also helped him dodge a rebellion over the unattractive terms of the omnibus. Lawmakers say he gave the rank-and-file a say in the agreement, even if it resulted in a deal they don’t like very much.
Ryan frequently consulted with GOP members, and even held unprecedented listening sessions that gave members a chance to list their spending priorities before the House Appropriations Committee.
Ryan had promised that if Republicans elected him as speaker, he would end the top-down management style that many complained left them sitting on the sidelines under Boehner’s rule. Ryan has followed through with that pledge, say lawmakers.
“He’s kept people included all the way through the entire process,” Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., told the Examiner. “He’s been really open.”
And while negotiating the deal, Ryan has impressed GOP lawmakers with his messaging skills. He’s made television appearances and granted interviews that have skillfully conveyed the Republican vision, which many rank-and-file say was lacking under Boehner.
“What I’m most grateful for in terms of Speaker Ryan is his ability to get out there over the last month and communicate our message,” said Rep. Ann Wagner, R-Mo. “And to talk about our positive vision for America.”
Ryan defended the deal on Wednesday, noting that it includes many big wins for the GOP, including some permanent tax breaks for small businesses and an end to the 1970s ban on crude oil exports.
But without the policy riders, the legislation may not earn a majority of Republican votes, which the GOP typically insists should be required before the speaker brings a bill to the floor. Still, Rohrabacher said Ryan will get a pass on that requirement as well.
“I think those of us who have insisted on no votes going to the floor, unless a majority of Republicans support it, would be forgiving in this case,” Rohrabacher said. “We are wishing Paul Ryan does well.”
