We've entered the acceptance phase of Trump grieving and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-WI) now says congressional Republicans will "make it work" with Trump.
More interestingly, Ryan addressed Trump's opposition to cutting social programs like Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security.
In short, Ryan says his House will keep trying to cut these programs regardless of who becomes president even if it's a Republican who opposes it.
“We’ll make it work if it happens,” Ryan said in an interview with CNBC’s John Harwood. “I’m going to defend our ideas as the Republican Party, but we’re going to have to work with whoever our nominee is.” [...]
“I think for younger people like myself, they're not going to be there for my generation when we retire,” Ryan said. “You have to change these benefits to prevent them from going bankrupt.”
Maybe the Republican party will not steal the nomination from Trump at their convention. That doesn't necessarily mean they will respect the will of the voters who are not voting for Ryan's spending cuts.
Ryan previously said he wanted to work with the GOP candidates on a positive legislative agenda to present to the American people, but the ridiculous budget currently working its way through the House is anything but positive. It's clear now that Ryan never had any intention of compromising and meeting the political needs of their presidential nominee.
Ryan may say he has no interest in being anointed the nominee at the GOP convention, but he may as well be the nominee. By refusing to alter the party's agenda in Congress regardless of who wins, Ryan is appointing himself as leader of the party.
If there are any recent examples of a congressional party pursuing an agenda their own presidential nominee opposes, I can't recall them.
I'm starting to think the reverence and hype of the Fake Genius that is Paul Ryan has done as much or more damage to the Republican party than Trump will. Would there even be a Trump without the party's fetish for radically reshaping government in favor of the rich? They've been running on Paul Ryan's Path to Poverty budget for six goddamn years with nothing to show for it but electoral ruin.
The current GOP Congress is the ultimate manifestation of a party that has supported an economic regime for over 30 years that impoverishes white conservatives and tells them minorities are to blame for it. Trump is the avatar of these conservatives who've been sold a box of goods by their own party.
If Republican voters nominate someone who is opposed to spending cuts and Republicans in Congress ignore them, there should be absolutely no debate that Congressional Republicans only serve their rich masters.