Quick action on health bill unlikely, Ryan concedes

A new push to pass GOP legislation to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act will take months, not days, House Speaker Paul Ryan indicated Wednesday, as new talks among Republicans produced no apparent breakthrough.

“We’ve got a couple months at least,” the Wisconsin Republican said in an interview Wednesday with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

“We’ve gotten pretty far in coming together,” he said, “but I also think we’re not there yet — because the stakes are so high, and people are just having to get used to” being the governing party.

Ryan defended his stewardship on the issue and what he portrayed as a leadership style of “nudging” his colleagues, not bullying them. “Leadership can’t be autocratic. I’ve watched that. It doesn’t work,” said Ryan. “I’m not an arm- breaker.”

While discussions between Vice President Pence and House Republicans briefly stirred talk of legislative movement this week, Ryan played down the notion of quick action, saying members were “shopping concepts to each other.” The House begins a two- week recess next week.

Polls suggest the health care defeat has left Ryan’s public standing in shaky condition. In a national survey by Quinnipiac University released Monday, the speaker was viewed favorably by just 28% of voters, and unfavorably by 52%. Only 21% approved of the job Republicans are doing in Congress, while 70% disapproved.

In an earlier poll by Quinnipiac, the GOP health care bill Ryan was pushing drew only 17% support.

Ryan said making such significant changes isn’t easy.

“It’s very disruptive. It’s high stakes, and of course it’s controversial. ... I am unconcerned about popularity and polling when I’m focused on advancing our principles and policies that we believe are necessary to get the country back on track.”