Paul Ryan is an American Republican politician, a Wisconsin congressman in the US House of Representatives, in which he has been a speaker since 2015.
early years
Paul Davis Ryan was born 01/29/1970 in Janesville, Wisconsin. His father, Paul Ryan Sr., worked as a lawyer, and his mother, Betty Ryan, was a housewife. Paul has a sister Janet and two brothers (Tobin and Stan).
Paul graduated from Joseph Craig High School in Janesville and enrolled at the University of Miami, Ohio, who graduated with a degree in economics and political science in 1992. After that, Ryan began working as a marketing consultant for the Wisconsin family building company. A few years later, he took up politics, working on bills for Senator Bob Kasten, then for Senator Sam Brownback and New York Rep. Jack Kemp.
Political outlook
Ryan became interested in public administration after reading Ayn Rand's works. According to him, he agrees with Rand's objectivist philosophy regarding the struggle of individualism against collectivism. However, Paul later stated that he rejected her worldview because he believed that it was based on atheism. In an article published in August 2012 in The New Yorker, Paul Ryan (Republican) put it this way: “I reject her philosophy. This is an atheistic philosophy. It simplifies human relationships to simple contracts, and this contradicts my worldview. If someone is going to try to apply someone’s view of epistemology, then Thomas Aquinas is best suited. ”
Career politics
In 1998, at the age of 28, Paul Ryan was elected to the US House of Representatives from Wisconsin constituency No. 1. He served as chairman of the House Budget Committee from 2011 to 2015. While in office, Paul helped negotiate a 2013 bipartisan budget with Democrat Senator Patti Murphy.
In August 2012, former Massachusetts governor and 2012 Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney nominated Ryan, a favorite of fiscal conservatives, as a vice president using the Romney campaign’s mobile phone app. The nomination ended after months of media speculation about potential candidates for the post of vice president of the United States in the 2012 election.
On August 28, the first day of a national convention in Tampa, Florida, Romney was officially named the Republican Party presidential candidate. Previously, this became known in May 2012, when he was ahead of his competitors in the primaries, including Rick Santorum and Ron Paul.
At the 2012 National Congress, Romney and Ryan spoke in support of the Republican Party. Their wives Anne Romney and Jenna Ryan, a former lawyer who became a housewife, did the same. In a brief speech, Jenna expressed support for her husband, saying: “I just want to say thank you to Romney for inviting me, my husband Paul, and three children on this trip. It is a great honor to become a team that will bring victory to the party, with all of you. ”
Speech at the Congress
Paul Ryan was in the spotlight on the second day of the National Congress, addressing the Republican Party with a long speech. “When Governor Romney asked me to unite, I replied: let's do it. And this is exactly what we are going to do, ”he said.
During his speech, CBS News took an emotional picture of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, a political ally of Vice Presidential candidate who was moved to tears by Ryan’s speech. Not everyone, however, felt the same way: Paul was criticized by many news agencies for the lack of accuracy in his statements, flavored with scornful comments about US President Barack Obama.
Speaking about the president and his administration, the American politician said that college graduates should not live in their children's bedrooms at the age of more than 20 years old, looking at Obama's fading posters and wondering when they can leave and start living their own lives. They will have to be content with what the Obama administration will offer - a boring, joyless journey from one allowance to another planned by the government in a country where everything is free but there is no freedom for us.
From defeat to victory
The election results were announced on November 6: Romney lost to the incumbent. Barack Obama received almost 60% of the vote and in a popular vote ahead of the opponent by more than 1 million ballots.
Although Ryan, as a candidate for US Vice President, did not take place, he retained his popularity in his home state. In 2014, he was re-elected to the House of Representatives by a significant margin. Paul defeated his opponent Democrat Rob Zerban, gaining more than 63% of the vote. Opponent got only 36%.
Work in Congress
In January 2015, Ryan became Chairman of the Tariffs and Taxation Committee. He was invited to play a more active role in the leadership of the Republican Party when, on September 25, 2015, the U.S. House of Representatives lost speaker John Boner, who resigned, and shortly after Kevin McCarthy, Republican majority leader and main candidate for Boner’s replacement, resigned nomination. At first, Ryan refused to run, but on October 21, he announced that he would do so if certain conditions were met, including uniting various factions of the party and demonstrating their support. At a press conference, Paul said: “We have become a problem. If my colleagues entrusted me to be a speaker, I want us to be the solution. ” He added that he wanted to turn the Republican Party from opposition into a propositional one.
“I came to the conclusion that not only Congress, not only the party, but also our country is in a very difficult situation, ” said Ryan, adding that his family would remain a priority for him. “I cannot and will not sacrifice the time I spend with my family.” "I may not be able to go as often as the previous speakers, but I promise to try to do this by spending more time voicing our vision and message."
House Speaker
On the night of October 22, the American politician, after he was supported by three factions of the Republican Party, officially announced that he would run for the post of Speaker of the House. In a letter to Congressional Republicans, Ryan wrote: “I never thought I'd be a speaker. But I promised you that if I could become a unifying figure, then I will serve and I will give it all to myself. Having talked with many of you and having heard words of support, I believe that we are ready to move forward as one united team. And I’m ready and really want to be your speaker. ”
10/29/15 US House of Representatives 236 votes elected Ryan 62nd speaker. At the age of 45, he became the youngest congressman in this post since 1869.
2016 Presidential Election
After Donald Trump became a likely Republican candidate in the 2016 presidential election on 05/04/2016, Paul hesitated to support him, saying on May 5 that he was not ready. They met behind closed doors on May 12, issuing a joint statement in which, recognizing differences of opinion, they recognized the existence of many important areas of common ground.
On June 2, Ryan announced his support for Trump at the Janesville Gazette. The next day, June 3, speaking of criticism of Gonzalo Curiel, Paul said that it was "just going beyond the left margin of his mind, " and expressed his disagreement.
On June 7, Paul Ryan disavowed Trump's comments about Gonzalo Curiel, because he believed that the statement of the New York businessman was a classic example of racist commentary. Despite this, the politician believed that the candidate would pursue a more republican policy than the representative of the Democrats, Hillary Clinton.
On July 5, after FBI Director James Komi spoke out against accusing Clinton of scandal over her email, Ryan said the Komi’s decision was unexplainable and his refusal to prosecute Secretary Clinton for recklessly misconduct and reporting information regarding national security, set a terrible precedent.
After Donald Trump became a Republican presidential candidate, he signaled support for Ryan's little-known adversary Paul Nelen. On August 1, 2016, Nelen described Ryan’s service in Congress as being nepotism and corruption.
Disagreements with Trump
On October 10, 2016, a month before the election, Paul Ryan announced that he would no longer defend a New York businessman, but did not withdraw his statement of his support. This happened after several eminent GOP representatives announced that they would no longer support their presidential candidate in connection with the publication of a 2005 video in which Donald Trump bragged about feeling for women. The businessman apologized for his behavior, calling it a normal conversation in the men's locker room.
The next day, Trump said that the Republican Party’s shackles had been removed from him and disloyal party members were a big obstacle for him than Hillary Clinton. The candidate attacked Paul Ryan and Senator John McCain from Arizona, who said he would not vote for him.
Attitude to Russia
Trump and Ryan disagreed in many ways during this presidential campaign. In fact, since such reluctant approval in June 2016, the speaker’s opinion has diverged from the opinion of the Republican candidate about once a week. But, perhaps, nowhere do their positions differ more clearly than on the question of Russia.
Trump believes that relations with the Russian Federation and its president Vladimir Putin can be wonderful. At a military-related forum, a New York businessman even defended Putin from reports that Russia was trying to influence or disrupt US elections.
“No one knows for sure, ” Trump said after the presenter repeated the accusations.
Paul Ryan is of the opposite opinion about Russia. At a press briefing, he seemed to intentionally depart from his usual manner in order to make clear that he did not sympathize with Putin and, of course, would not protect him from reports that the Russian Federation was interfering in the internal affairs of the United States.
“Let me say this about Vladimir Putin, ” Ryan said. - Vladimir Putin is an aggressor who does not share our interests. It violates the sovereignty of neighboring countries."
Split point
Ryan did not agree with Trump very often. The list includes statements by the latter about the ban on Muslims, about David Duke, about Judge Gonzalo Curiel and much more. But what's interesting about the disagreements about Russia: Ryan is ready to take a position that in fact is much more consistent with the point of view of the Democrats than a candidate from the Republican Party. Hillary Clinton said that Trump’s praise for Putin is not just unpatriotic and insulting to the people of our country and to our commander in chief, they are terrible.
Ryan did not speak so sharply, but several times he pointed out that he did not share Trump’s feelings for the excellent potential of Russia. The House of Representatives overwhelmingly adopted a resolution in support of the sovereignty of Georgia, which the Russian Federation invaded in 2008.
A global threat led by a cunning murderer
The split between Ryan and Trump in relation to the Russian Federation is not new. In July, when the Democrats’internal correspondence leaked on the eve of the party’s congress, and they pointed their finger at Russia, Ryan did nothing to refute this point of view. Its representative Brendan Buck made a statement: “Russia is a global threat, led by a cunning murderer. Putin must remain aloof from this election. ”
Trump, in turn, refused to criticize Russia. While all other politicians accused the Russian Federation of interference, the presidential candidate invited her to take a more active part in the US elections. “Russia, if you hear, I hope you are able to find 30, 000 missing messages, ” he said at a press conference, referring to Clinton’s correspondence.
