Paul Ryan on speakership: "I'm redesigning this job"
Newly-elected Speaker Paul Ryan said in an interview that aired Sunday on CBS' "Face the Nation" that he's "redesigning" his leadership job.
"I'm redesigning this job. I don't think it can work going forward like it's worked in the past. I can't pick up where John (Boehner) left off. It has to be done differently," Ryan said, referring to Rep. John Boehner's, R-Ohio, recently ended tenure as speaker.
The House elected Ryan as speaker last Thursday and Boehner resigned from his leadership post and congressional seat.
Ryan told host John Dickerson that he wasn't elected "dictator of the House" and has plans to implement a bottom up approach that House conservatives have lobbied for.
During the interview, the new speaker laid out his priorities to return to "regular order" and pass legislation using the committee process, seek common ground with other lawmakers, serve as a check on the Obama administration's power and to present bold policy proposals.
Ryan appeared to rule out passing an bipartisan immigration reform bill under President Obama.
"Look, I think it would be a ridiculous notion to try and work on an issue like this with a president we simply cannot trust on this issue," Ryan said. "He tried to go it alone, circumventing the legislative process with his executive orders so that is not in the cards. I think if we reach consensus on how best to achieve border and interior enforcement security, I think that's fine."
But then Ryan said Republicans need to take "policy risks" and named tax reform as one option and an ObamaCare replacement plan as another.
Ryan was elected after weeks of internal turmoil within the House Republican conference. He told Face the Nation, however, that the infighting was "necessary to unify our conference, unify our party."
While he's unveiling changes for House rules, there's one thing he's not planning to change. The new speaker will still sleep in his office in the Longworth Office Building.
"Yes, look, I just work here. I live in Janesville, Wisconsin. I'm not changing that. I work here from dawn till about midnight. And I'm just going to sleep in my office, because it's very convenient for me," Ryan said.
