Priebus: Ryan is achieving goals with Trump he’s worked on ‘since he was 21’

Former White House chief of staff Reince Priebus said Sunday he thinks Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) will decide in the spring whether to run for reelection, but touted what Ryan and President Trump have accomplished together. 

“I do think that Paul’s view of what fundamentally is getting accomplished under President Trump … when you take away what the media wants to focus in on, which is the decision-making process and some of the drama, but you actually look at what decisions are being made and the fundamentals, the president’s doing a remarkable job,” Priebus said on NBC’s “Meet The Press.” 

Speculation swirled late last year that Ryan would not seek reelection in 2018. Confidants indicated he might want to go out on “a high note” if Republicans were able to pass tax reform, long a legislative priority of Ryan’s.

{mosads}Ryan refuted the reports, telling reporters he’s “not going anywhere anytime soon.”

Priebus, a fellow Wisconsinite who previously served as chairman of the Republican National Committee, has long been an ally of Ryan. 

Priebus on Sunday noted the Republican tax-cut bill, regulation cuts and court appointments as key accomplishments during Trump’s first year in office. He pushed back, however, on the notion that Ryan might think it’s “mission accomplished.” 

“My point is he’s accomplishing the things that he’s worked since he was 21 on. They’re happening now under President Trump,” Priebus said. “And as wild as that ride has been both for Paul Ryan and people like myself, you cannot escape the fact that the president is doing a remarkable job on the fundamentals of what being president is all about.”