Paul Ryan

==Political positions==
{{Main|Political positions of Paul Ryan}}
{{Conservatism US}}
[[File:Speaker Ryan 1.tif|thumb|right|Ryan takes his oath of office following his election as Speaker on October 29, 2015.]]
Ryan's political positions were generally [[Conservatism in the United States|conservative]], with a focus on [[fiscal policy]].<ref name=nyt20120813 /> Ryan "played a central role in nearly all" the policy debates of the period 2010–2012.<ref name=nyt20120813 /> In 2012, Ryan voted against the [[National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform|Simpson–Bowles commission]] proposal to reduce the deficit, because the proposal raised taxes and failed to repeal the Affordable Care Act.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2012/aug/30/ryan-and-simpson-bowles-commission-full-story/|title=Ryan and the Simpson-Bowles Commission: the full story|work=PolitiFact|access-date=April 13, 2018|language=en}}</ref> While he was a self-proclaimed deficit hawk, Ryan's tenure of Speaker of the House saw a major expansion in government spending and a ballooning of deficits despite unified Republican control of Congress and the White House, no recession and no new foreign conflict.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":3" /><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-12-12/paul-ryan-s-legacy-of-debt|title=Paul Ryan Leaves Behind Big Budget Deficits and Ballooning Debt|agency=Bloomberg |date=December 12, 2018 |access-date=December 23, 2018}}</ref>

Ryan subscribed to [[supply-side economics]] and supported tax cuts including eliminating the [[capital gain]]s tax, the corporate income tax, the [[Inheritance tax|estate tax]], and the [[Alternative Minimum Tax]].<ref name=Ambinder /><ref name=time20111214 /><ref name=roadmap2 /> Ryan supports deregulation, including the [[Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act]] of 1999, which repealed some financial regulation of banks from the [[Banking Act of 1933|Glass–Steagall Act]] of 1933.<ref name=msnbc20140407 /> During the economic recovery from the [[Great Recession in the United States|Great Recession of the late 2000s]], Ryan supported the [[Troubled Asset Relief Program]] (TARP), which authorized the Treasury to purchase [[toxic assets]] from banks and other financial institutions, and the [[2008–2010 automotive industry crisis|auto industry bailout]]; Ryan opposed the [[Credit CARD Act of 2009]], which expanded consumer protections regarding credit card plans, and the [[Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act]], which strengthened financial regulation.<ref name=msnbc20140407 /><ref name="Auto2A-53" /><ref name="Auto2A-63" /> In 2018 as House Speaker, Ryan helped pass the [[Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act]] that repealed large parts of Dodd-Frank.<ref name="auto" />

In 2016, Ryan rolled out a set of anti-poverty proposals that "seek to expand work requirements for those receiving federal benefits, to give states and local jurisdictions a greater role in administering those benefits, to better measure the results of federal programs for the poor, and to crack down on waste, fraud and abuse."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.pressherald.com/2016/06/07/house-speaker-paul-ryan-debuts-anti-poverty-plan-limiting-federal-role/|title=House Speaker Paul Ryan debuts anti-poverty plan limiting federal role|work=PressHerald.com|last=DeBonis|first=Mike|access-date=July 29, 2018|language=en}}</ref> Ryan believes federal [[poverty reduction]] programs are ineffective and he supports cuts to welfare, child care, [[Pell Grant]]s, food stamps, and other federal assistance programs.<ref name="WOPReportDocument" /><ref name="WOP_report" /><ref name="Auto2A-119" /> Ryan supports [[block grant]]ing [[Medicaid]] to the states and the [[privatization]] of [[Social Security (United States)|social security]] and [[Medicare (United States)|Medicare]].<ref name="Auto2A-17" /><ref name=Ambinder /><ref name=time20111214 /><ref name=nymag20120429 /> Ryan supported the [[Medicare Part D]] prescription drug benefit and opposes the [[Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act]] (ACA), also known as "Obamacare."<ref name=msnbc20140407 /><ref name=weeklystandard20120723 /><ref name=propublica20120914 /> Ryan supported the [[American Health Care Act of 2017]] (AHCA), the 2017 House Republican plan to repeal and replace the ACA.<ref name="NYT-20170504a" /><ref name="CNN-passage" /> In 2012, ''The New York Times'' said Ryan was "his party's most forceful spokesman for cutting entitlement spending."<ref name=nyt20120813 />

Ryan's non-fiscal policy positions were subject to additional national attention with his 2012 candidacy for vice president.<ref name="NYT-PearSocial" /> Ryan is [[United States pro-life movement|pro-life]] and opposes [[United States pro-choice movement|abortion rights]].<ref name="Beast08122012" /><ref name=Bloomberg-822 /> Ryan opposed the [[Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009]], which provides that the 180-day statute of limitations for filing an equal-pay lawsuit regarding pay discrimination resets with each new paycheck affected by that discriminatory action.<ref name=cnn20121020 /><ref name=abc20121017 /> In 2012, Ryan supported [[civil unions]] and opposed [[same-sex marriage]].<ref name="NYT-PearSocial" /><ref name="FiveIssues" />

Ryan supported [[school voucher]]s, and supported the [[No Child Left Behind Act]] in 2001 and its repeal the [[Every Student Succeeds Act]] in 2015.<ref name=wapo20120811 /><ref name=wapo20151210 /> Ryan is unsure, and believes [[Climatology|climate scientists]] are unsure, of the impact of [[Human impact on the environment|human activity on climate change]].<ref name=nyt20120814 /><ref name=time20141014 /> Ryan supported tax incentives for the petroleum industry and opposed them for [[renewable energy]].<ref name=weeklystandard20120723 /><ref name="Auto2A-116" /> Ryan supported [[Gun politics in the United States|gun rights]] and opposed stricter [[gun control]].<ref name="NYT-PearSocial" /><ref name="CNN Ryan Vote" /> Ryan supported the [[Iraq War|wars in Iraq]] and [[War in Afghanistan (2001–present)|Afghanistan]].<ref name=msnbc20140407 /><ref name="crawford" />

[[File:2018 SOTU 27628831.jpg|thumb|Ryan with President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence, January 2018]]
Ryan condemned [[Barack Obama]]'s decision not to block a [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334|UN resolution]] criticizing [[Israeli settlements|Israeli settlement building]] in the occupied [[Palestinian territories]] as "absolutely shameful".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-israel-palestinians-un-ryan-idUSKBN14C220 |title=House Speaker Ryan, Senator McCain condemn U.S. abstention on U.N.'s Israel vote|date=December 23, 2016|agency=Reuters}}</ref> Ryan supported President Donald Trump's decision to [[United States recognition of Jerusalem as capital of Israel|recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital]]. He stated: "Jerusalem has been, and always will be, the eternal, undivided capital of the State of Israel."<ref>{{cite news |title=In US Congress, robust backing for Trump's Jerusalem move |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/in-us-congress-robust-backing-for-trumps-jerusalem-move/ |work=The Times of Israel |date=December 6, 2017}}</ref>

Following the [[2018 Russia–United States summit]], in which Donald Trump stated that he believed Russian government did not [[Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections|interfere in the 2016 U.S. presidential election]], Ryan confirmed his belief that Russian government interfered and advocated for more [[economic sanctions]] against Russia for the interference.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/17/politics/paul-ryan-russia-sanctions-vladimir-putin-meeting/index.html|title=House Speaker Paul Ryan advocates for more Russia sanctions|date=July 17, 2018|publisher=CNN}}</ref>

Ryan supported U.S. involvement in the [[Saudi-led intervention in the Yemeni civil war]] and used his power to block a House vote on the war in [[Yemen]].<ref>{{cite news |title=What the Hell Is Wrong With Paul Ryan? |url=https://www.thenation.com/article/paul-ryan-yemen-saudi-arabia-vote/ |work=The Nation |date=December 13, 2018}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=December 2019}}

In a 2022 interview, Ryan described himself as a "Never-Again Trumper". While he was "proud of the accomplishments [during the Trump administration]", Ryan highlighted how under Trump, the Republican Party lost elections in [[2018 United States elections|2018]], [[2020 United States elections|2020]], and [[2022 United States elections|2022]], and said that the party should thus distance itself from Trump.<ref>{{cite news |author-link=Chris Cillizza |last1=Cillizza |first1=Chris |title=Paul Ryan invents a new category of anti-Trumpism |url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/21/politics/paul-ryan-never-again-trump-2024/index.html |access-date=21 November 2022 |publisher=[[CNN]] |date=November 21, 2022}}</ref> A year later, Ryan would deride Trump as a "populist, authoritarian narcissist" and "not a conservative."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Zhang |first1=Andrew |title=Paul Ryan calls Trump a ‘populist, authoritarian narcissist’ |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2023/12/13/paul-ryan-trump-populist-authoritarian-narcissist-00131675 |access-date=16 December 2023 |work=Politico |date=December 13, 2023}}</ref>

===History with Objectivism===
At a 2005 Washington, D.C., gathering celebrating the 100th anniversary of [[Ayn Rand]]'s birth, Ryan credited Rand with having inspired him to get involved in politics.<ref name="Auto2A-17" /> In a speech that same year at [[The Atlas Society]], he said he grew up reading Rand, and that her books taught him about his value system and beliefs.<ref name="atlassociety" /><ref name="reeve" /> Ryan required staffers and interns in his congressional office to read Rand,<ref name="reeve" /> and gave copies of her novel ''[[Atlas Shrugged]]'' as gifts to his staff for [[Christmas]].<ref name=Mayer /><ref name="Auto2A-18" /> In his Atlas Society speech, he also described [[Social Security (United States)|Social Security]] as a "socialist-based system".<ref name="Auto2A-19" />

In 2009, Ryan said, "What's unique about what's happening today in government, in the world, in America, is that it's as if we're living in an Ayn Rand novel right now. I think Ayn Rand did the best job of anybody to build a moral case of capitalism, and that morality of capitalism is under assault."<ref name="Mayer" />

In April 2012, after receiving criticism from [[Georgetown University]] faculty members on his budget plan, Ryan rejected Rand's philosophy of [[Objectivism]] as [[atheistic]], saying it "reduces human interactions down to mere contracts".<ref name="Auto2A-20" /> He also called the reports of his adherence to Rand's views an "[[urban legend]]" and stated that he was instead deeply influenced by his [[Catholic]] faith and by [[Thomas Aquinas]].<ref name="Auto2A-21" />