Paul Ryan was formally re-elected House speaker Tuesday as he intensifies his efforts to move past his differences with Donald Trump after a divisive campaign.
Ryan won resounding re-election with 239 votes — clearing the 218 needed — with only one Republican voting for someone else. But his relationship with Trump will face a test as he carves out his own agenda for Republicans in Congress.
"This is the kind of thing that most of us only dream about. … I used to dream about it. The people have given us unified government," Ryan said Tuesday.
But the speaker faces competing pressures from different parts of his own caucus. Some members warn they'll be monitoring his loyalty to Trump. Others want Ryan to stick to the conservative line on spending and not roll over for Trump, a stance that could bring a quick end to their uneasy peace.
The two men see eye to eye on repealing President Obama's health care plan as the first order of business but don't agree yet on the details of how to replace it. Other early flash points are likely to be Trump's insistence on a $1 trillion infrastructure plan and a wall along the Mexican border — both of which could balloon the deficit, anathema to a spending hawk like Ryan.
"This speaker … has strong opinions on matters of policy," said Rep. Charlie Dent, R-Pa., a Ryan ally and House moderate. He said Ryan will work with the Trump administration, "but I just don't see the speaker rolling over on every policy."
The Wisconsin Republican has emerged unscathed so far from his unprecedented decision last fall to distance himself from the then-presidential nominee.
But some conservatives warn that Ryan will be on a short leash. Trump has strong support within the House GOP, and the speaker must tread lightly because it was Trump's uprising that succeeded, not his own.
