Paul Ryan Defends Trump on Travel Ban

But admits rollout was confusing
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 31, 2017 1:48 PM CST
Paul Ryan Defends Trump on Travel Ban
From left, House Speaker Paul Ryan, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, and House Majority Whip Steve Scalise meet with reporters on Capitol Hill on Tuesday.   (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Paul Ryan appears to be playing nice with President Trump, at least when it comes to an executive order barring travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries. In comments Tuesday, Ryan said it was "regrettable that there was some confusion on the rollout," noting "no one wanted to see people with green cards or special immigrant visas, like translators, get caught up in all of this." But he also expressed support for the policy for security reasons and said he'd had a "very good conversation" with Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly, whom he is "confident" will "correctly" implement it, report Reuters and the New York Times.

Amid the uproar on the left, many Republicans are joining Ryan in backing the executive order. Sens. John McCain and Lindsey Graham are two prominent exceptions, per the Times. However, the Hill reports most Republicans knew little about the order ahead of time, except that it was in the works. Though Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte said Tuesday that some of his staffers had been given the go-ahead to assist Trump's transition team in regards to immigration law, Ryan says GOP leaders were only "briefed on the contents of [the order] as it was being rolled out." (More Trump travel ban stories.)

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