House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) said on Tuesday that he sees President Donald Trump “as more of a chairman” who delegates the details of his campaign promises to others.
“He’s a business guy who came to office not as some policy wonk, you know, working in Congress on health care,” Ryan said in an interview with TODAY’s Matt Lauer.
“Doesn’t it seem often, Mr. Speaker, that President Trump talks about big ideas without diving into the details of how to accomplish his promises?” Lauer asked. “Doesn’t that frustrate you sometimes?”
“Not really,” Ryan said. “I see him as more of a chairman, as a president — much like many successful presidents have been — where he gets people around him who are detail people who can execute those plans.”
On Monday, Trump told a bipartisan group of governors at a White House reception that Republican tax reform would have to wait until lawmakers make progress on repealing Obamacare.
“Nobody knew that health care could be so complicated,” he said. “I have to tell you, it’s an unbelievably complex subject.”
Republicans voted repeatedly to repeal the Affordable Care Act in the last eight years despite not having a consensus on what their replacement would look like, a dilemma that has only escalated since the election.