WASHINGTON — Representative Paul D. Ryan may have temporarily receded into the Capitol shadows after his stinging vice-presidential defeat in November, but he remains a powerful presence among House Republicans, earning the respect of hard-line conservatives for his budget blueprint and the trust of anxious moderates for his pragmatism.
Now, the impasse that has shuttered much of the government and steered the nation toward a default has offered the Wisconsin congressman a new opening to reassert himself — and suddenly a man who seemed in danger of being eclipsed as the face of his party has re-emerged as essential to its rescue.
“I want to get to a budget agreement,” Mr. Ryan said bluntly on Thursday, after House Republican leaders latched onto his plan to offer a short-term increase in the debt ceiling as a way forward on deficit reduction and tax reform talks. “We think this takes us in the right direction.”
“He’s still the intellectual center of Republicans in the House,” said Representative Tom Cole, Republican of Oklahoma, who serves as Mr. Ryan’s bridge between the House Budget and Appropriations Committees. “He’s a guy who commands universal respect in the conference and the trust of leadership, and he has credibility with the other side.”
Source: NY Times
