Outgoing House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) thinks the 115th Congress was a rousing success — with two notable exceptions.
Ryan, who earlier this year decided not to seek re-election, spoke with The Washington Post on Thursday and named his biggest regrets: the first is that Congress was not able to pass immigration reform, and the second is that it was not able to reduce the national debt.
The GOP leader tried and failed to pass an immigration reform bill that he introduced over the summer. The national debt is currently $21.8 trillion, having risen from $19.5 trillion in 2016, reports The Washington Examiner. The Congressional Budget Office has projected that Congress' tax reform bill will add $1.9 trillion to the debt over the next ten years, per The Hill.
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Ryan named the tax bill as one of the accomplishments he's happy about, in addition to increased spending for the military, adding that "history is going to be very good to this majority." Watch Ryan's comments on his tenure, including lamentations about "tribalism" in politics and President Trump's "hostile" relationship with the press at The Washington Post.
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