Story highlights Paul Ryan is working with Obama on a key trade bill

Ryan: 'The irony's not necessarily lost on me'

Washington (CNN) If things had gone differently in the 2012 presidential election, Paul Ryan would be vice president right now.

Instead, he's allied with the President he tried to defeat. As chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, he's muscling a controversial trade bill through the House that could shape President Barack Obama's legacy -- and his own.

"Yeah, the irony's not necessarily lost on me. Look, I think the President on this particular issue is right and therefore I think this is good for our country, good for the people I represent. Trade is very important for America -- it's how we get more jobs," Ryan told us during an interview in his Capitol office this week.

But did he ever envision working this closely with Obama?

"I've done a lot of things in my career that I never envisioned in the future," replied Ryan. "It doesn't bother me that the person I ran against in 2012 is the person I'm working with on this because it's the right thing for the country."

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