We report this morning that House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) appears to be leaving the door opening to seriously modifying (ok: breaking) his promise that his plan to privatize Medicare would not affect anyone over age 55. There’s a lot of room for math gimmickry here that could spare him from having to go higher than 55 but still allow him to balance the budget. So it’s not set in stone. But apparently it’s tricky enough that Ryan has warned fellow House Republicans that he might have to raise the age of those unaffected by his Medicare privatiation all the way to 59, The Hill reports.

David Kurtz

David Kurtz is Managing Editor and Washington Bureau Chief of Talking Points Memo where he oversees the news operations of TPM and its sister sites.