The tension between President Donald Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan has been well-documented, and it doesn't look like their relationship is getting any better. During a closed-door meeting with top Republican officials, aides to the president made it clear that he wants Ryan out at Speaker of the House unless he acts to repeal the Affordable Care Act immediately.
Trump on Ryan
During the 2016 presidential election, Paul Ryan made it clear he wasn't a fan of Donald Trump. More of an establishment member of the party, Ryan pushed back against the nomination of the former host of "The Apprentice," which was made worse during the end of the campaign when the now infamous Access Hollywood tape was released. With Trump's private sexual thoughts now made public, Ryan told House Republicans on a conference call that he couldn't support Trump then, or at any point in the future. Fast forward to present day and the two have attempted to put their differences aside, which was evident when they worked together to put forward a health care reform bill.
However, despite a GOP-controlled House of Representatives, the bill still failed to gain much support and the president was forced to pull it from the floor before a vote could even take place. As reported by Politico, and later Raw Story, on April 6, Trump is losing patience with Ryan and is close to giving him the boot.
According to the report in Politico, top Republican aides and lawmakers got together for a private meeting on Wednesday which quickly became "heated" when it was made clear that Donald Trump was ready to remove Paul Ryan from his leadership position. White House aides informed those in the meeting that Ryan could soon lose his job if he fails to show "immediate progress" on health care reform.
Ryan, out?
Politico described the meeting as "tense," with one source saying "it was really bad." "They were in total meltdown, total chaos mode," the Politico source continued. Chief Strategist Steve Bannon and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner were in attendance in the meeting, with both men making it clear for some time that they aren't on the same page as the current Speaker of the House. Following the meeting, Donald Trump and Paul Ryan spoke privately, though a spokeswoman for the House Speaker predictably denied any trouble between the two, saying they "had a very good, long conversation last night." As of press time, it's unknown what the future will hold for the GOP, but recent reports indicate that there is more trouble behind the scenes than the party is letting on.