Paul Ryan, American politician: biography, career

Paul Ryan is an American Republican politician, a congressman from Wisconsin in the US House of Representatives, which since 2015 has been a speaker.

early years

Paul Davies Ryan was born on Jan. 29, 1970 in Janesville, Wisconsin. His father, Paul Ryan Sr., worked as a lawyer, and his mother, Betty Ryan, was a housewife. Paul has a sister, Janet and two brothers (Tobin and Stan).

Paul graduated from Joseph Craig High School in Jainesville and entered the University of Miami, Ohio, who graduated with a degree in Economics and Political Science in 1992. After that, Ryan began working as a marketing consultant in the family branch of the Wisconsin Construction Company. A few years later, he took up politics, working on bills for Senator Bob Casten, then for Senator Sam Brownback and Rep. Jack Newman of the Republican Republican Rep. Jack Kemp.

Political worldview

Ryan became interested in public administration after reading the works of Ain Rand. According to him, he agrees with Rand's objectivist philosophy concerning the struggle of individualism against collectivism. However, later Paul said that he rejected her world view, because she believes that it is based on atheism. In an article published in August 2012 in The New Yorker, Paul Ryan (Republican) put it this way: "I reject her philosophy. This is an atheistic philosophy. It simplifies human relations to simple contracts, and this contradicts my worldview. If someone is going to try to apply someone's view of epistemology, then Thomas Aquinas is best suited. "

Career Policy

In 1998, at the age of 28, Paul Ryan was elected to the US House of Representatives from Wisconsin constituency No. 1. He served as chairman of the Chamber's Budget Committee from 2011 to 2015. While in office, Paul helped negotiate a bipartisan 2013 budget with Senator Democrat Patti Murphy.

In August 2012, former Massachusetts governor and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, in 2012, nominated Ryan, a favorite of fiscal conservatives, as a candidate for vice president, using the mobile application for the Romney campaign. The nomination ended after months of speculation in the media about potential contenders for the position of US Vice-President in the 2012 elections.

On August 28, the first day of the national convention, which was held in Tampa, Florida, Romney was officially named as a presidential candidate from the Republican Party. Previously, it became known in May 2012, when he was ahead of his competitors in the primaries, including Rick Santorum and Ron Paul.

At the National Convention before the 2012 elections, Romney and Ryan supported the Republican Party. This was also done by their wives Anne Romney and Jenna Ryan, a former lawyer who became a housewife mother. In a short speech, Jenna expressed her support for her husband, saying: "I just want to say" thank you "to Romney's couple for having invited me, my husband Paul and three children on this trip. It is a great honor to become a team that will bring victory to the party, with all of you. "

Speech at the Congress

Paul Ryan was in the spotlight on the second day of the National Convention, addressing a long speech to the Republican Party. "When Governor Romney asked me to unite, I replied: let's do it. And this is exactly what we are going to do, "he said.

During his speech, the CBS News camera took an emotional snapshot of the governor of Wisconsin, Scott Walker, the political ally of the vice presidential candidate who was moved to tears by Ryan's speech. Not everyone, however, felt the same way: Paul was criticized by many news agencies for the lack of accuracy of his statements, flavored with disparaging comments about US President Barack Obama.

Speaking about the president and his administration, the American politician said that college graduates should not live in their children's bedrooms in their 20-plus years, looking at Obama's fading posters and wondering when they will be able to leave and start living their own lives. They will have to be content with what the Obama administration offers - a boring, joyless journey from one benefit to another planned by the government life in a country where everything is free, but there is no freedom for us.

From defeat to victory

The election results were announced on November 6: Romney lost to the incumbent president. Barack Obama received almost 60% of the vote and in the popular vote ahead of the opponent more than 1 million ballots.

Although Ryan as a candidate for vice-presidents of the United States did not take place, he remained popular in his native state. In 2014, he was re-elected to the House of Representatives with a significant margin. Paul defeated his opponent-democrat Rob Zerban, gaining more than 63% of the vote. The rival got only 36%.

Work in the Congress

In January 2015, Ryan became chairman of the Tariff and Tax Committee. He was asked to play a more active role in the leadership of the Republican Party when, on September 25, 2015, the US House of Representatives lost the Speaker John Boehner, who had left his post, and shortly after Kevin McCarthy, the leader of the Republican majority and the main challenger for Boehner's replacement, Nomination of one's candidature. At first, Ryan refused to run, but on October 21 he said that he would do it if certain conditions were met, including the unification of various factions of the party and the demonstration of their support. At the press conference, Paul said: "We have become a problem. If my colleagues entrusted me with being a speaker, I want us to be the solution. " He added that he wanted to turn the Republican Party from an opposition party into a propositional one.

"I came to the conclusion that not only the Congress, not only the party, but our country is in a very difficult situation," Ryan said, adding that his family will remain a priority for him. - I can not and will not sacrifice the time that I spend with my family. Perhaps I can not be on the go as often as the previous speakers, but I promise to try to do this, more time giving voice to our vision and message. "

Speaker of the House of Representatives

On the night of October 22, the American politician, after he was supported by three factions of the Republican Party, officially announced that he will run for the post of speaker of the Chamber. In a letter to Republican congressmen Ryan wrote: "I never thought that I would be a speaker. But I promised you, if I could become a unifying figure, then I will serve and give it all to myself. After talking with many of you and hearing the words of support, I believe that we are ready to move forward as one single team. And I am ready and very much want to be your speaker. "

29.10.15 The House of Representatives of the United States elected Ryan as the 62nd speaker by a vote of 236 votes. At the age of 45, he became the youngest congressman in this position since 1869.

Presidential Election 2016

After May 4, 2016 Donald Trump became a likely candidate for Republicans in the 2016 presidential election , Paul hesitated to support him, saying on May 5 that he was not ready. They met behind closed doors on May 12, issuing a joint statement in which, recognizing differences in views, recognized the existence of many important areas of contact.

On June 2, Ryan announced his support for Trump in the Janesville Gazette. The next day, June 3, speaking of the criticism of Gonzalo Kuriel, Paul said that it "just goes beyond the left field of his mind," and expressed his disagreement.

On June 7, Paul Ryan disavowed Trump's comments about Gonzalo Curiele, since he believed that the statement of a New York businessman was a classic example of a racist comment. Despite this, the politician believed that the candidate would pursue a more Republican policy than a representative of the Democrats Hillary Clinton.

On July 5, after FBI director James Komi opposed protests against Clinton for the scandal over her e-mail, Ryan said the Komi decision could not be explained, and the refusal to pursue Secretary of State Clinton for recklessly misconduct and information about the national Security, set a terrible precedent.

After Donald Trump became a Republican presidential candidate, he signaled support for Ryan's little-known opponent, Paul Nelen. On August 1, 2016, Nélén described Ryan's service in Congress as full of cronyism and corruption.

Disagreements with Trump

On October 10, 2016, a month before the election, Paul Ryan stated that he would no longer defend a New York businessman, but he never withdrew his application for his support. This happened after several eminent Republican representatives announced that they would no longer support their presidential candidate in connection with the 2005 video, in which Donald Trump boasted that he had felt women. The businessman apologized for his behavior, calling him an ordinary conversation in the men's locker room.

The next day, Trump stated that the shackles of the Republican Party had been removed from him and that disloyal fellow party members were a greater obstacle for him than Hillary Clinton. The candidate attacked Paul Ryan and Senator John McCain of Arizona, who stated that he would not vote for him.

Attitude towards Russia

Trump and Ryan largely disagreed during this presidential campaign. In fact, from the time of such reluctant approval in June 2016, the speaker's opinion was at odds with the Republican candidate's opinion about once a week. But, perhaps, nowhere do their positions differ more clearly than in the question of Russia.

Trump believes that relations with Russia and its president Vladimir Putin can be remarkable. At a forum devoted to military issues, a New York businessman even defended Putin from reports that Russia is trying to influence or disrupt elections in the United States.

"No one knows this for sure," Trump said after the presenter repeated the charges.

Paul Ryan about Russia has the opposite opinion. At a press briefing, he seemed to have deliberately departed from his usual manner to make it clear that he did not sympathize with Putin and, of course, would not protect him from reports that the Russian Federation was interfering in the internal affairs of the United States.

"Let me say this about Vladimir Putin," Ryan said. - Vladimir Putin is an aggressor who does not share our interests. It violates the sovereignty of neighboring countries. "

Split Point

Ryan did not agree with Trump very often. The list includes statements by the latter about the ban on Muslims, about David Duke, about Judge Gonzalo Curiele and much more. But what is interesting about the disagreements over Russia: Ryan is ready to take a position that in fact is much more in line with the Democrats' point of view than the candidate from the Republican Party. Hillary Clinton said that Trump's laudatory comments about Putin are not just unpatriotic and insulting towards the people of our country and to our commander-in-chief, they are terrible.

Ryan did not speak so sharply, but he repeatedly pointed out that he does not share Trump's feelings with respect to Russia's excellent potential. The House of Representatives overwhelmingly adopted a resolution in support of the sovereignty of Georgia, in which the Russian Federation invaded in 2008.

The global threat, led by a cunning murderer

The split between Ryan and Trump in relation to the Russian Federation is not new. In July, when the internal correspondence of the democrats leaked on the eve of the party congress, and they pointed a finger at Russia, Ryan did nothing to disprove this point of view. His representative Brendan Buck made a statement: "Russia is a global threat, headed by a cunning murderer. Putin must remain aloof from these elections. "

Trump, in turn, refused to criticize Russia. While all other politicians accused Russia of interfering, the presidential candidate invited her to take a more active part in the elections to the United States. "Russia, if you hear, I hope that you are able to find 30,000 missing messages," he said at a press conference, referring to Clinton's correspondence.

Personal life

When Ryan was 16, his 55-year-old father died in his bed after suffering a heart attack. According to the politician, this death helped him to understand the American social programs of the XXI century.

Paul Ryan is married to Jenna Little since December 2000. They have three children: Lisa's daughter and sons Sam and Charlie.