Ryan Passes First Test as Speaker

Rick Klein: “Who has a better read on House Democrats – President Obama, or the new Republican Speaker of the House? More broadly – and perhaps more relevantly – who had a better read on the mood of the public, and thus members of Congress, as the week after Paris played out?”

“Speaker Paul Ryan faced an early test in responding quickly to the concerns over Syrian refugees. While few see it as a time to count political victories, Ryan clearly passed. His initial comments seemed to offer a chance for the White House to compromise with Congress, and head off the kind of vote we saw Thursday. When Obama, inconveniently many time zones away, dug in for a political fight with the presidential contenders, Ryan and his team focused on the votes in the House. They delivered a rare, sweeping, veto-proof and bipartisan vote on a bill that effectively pauses the admittance of Syrian refugees. At the very least, Ryan has bought Republicans a seat at a negotiating table the White House didn’t want to set. At most, he’s set to have his members control policy at a tense time for the nation.”