Tom Price has long had House Speaker Paul Ryan’s ear on policy matters and was part of Ryan’s old “Jedi Council.” | Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Ryan asked White House to reconsider ousting Price The speaker touted his longtime friend’s experience in Congress during a phone call with chief of staff John Kelly.

Speaker Paul Ryan last week urged the White House to reconsider ousting Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, his longtime friend who had come under fire for often using taxpayer-funded private jets for travel, according to two people with knowledge of the call.

John Kelly, the White House chief of staff, called the Wisconsin Republican minutes before the departure was announced Friday afternoon. It was a heads-up call, one White House official said.


Ryan urged Kelly to reconsider and touted the Georgia Republican’s experience in Congress and work in the administration, one of the people familiar with the call said.

Price has long had the speaker’s ear on policy matters and was part of Ryan’s old “Jedi Council,” a group of fiscally conservative rabble-rousers who used to powwow when Republicans were in the minority.

But Kelly made clear that Price was out, and the call quickly ended, one of the people said.

A spokeswoman for Ryan and a White House spokesman declined to comment on the call.

The conversation reflected a private disagreement between the White House and Ryan's office — not an unprecedented occurrence — even as the two sides have tried to show a public alliance to advance a repeal of Obamacare, tax reform and other legislative priorities.

It also shows how the decision to oust Price caused some angst on Capitol Hill.

Price officially resigned on Friday after he came under fire for his frequent use of private and government planes for travel, at a cost to taxpayers of more than $1 million since May. POLITICO revealed in a series of articles that Price flew at least 26 times on private aircraft, a sharp break with his predecessors’ practice. He also used military aircraft for multi-national trips to Africa, Europe and Asia.

Even though the jet scandal was the direct cause of Price’s ouster, the secretary had slowly lost the president’s trust over a number of months. Price rarely attended Oval Office strategy meetings, was seen as having insufficient influence on Capitol Hill, and was associated in Trump’s mind with the repeated failure to repeal Obamacare.

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Ryan, however, has long considered Price a top ally with a similar mind-set. The two met with other conservatives for weekly policy breakfasts during the “Jedi Council” days. And Price also stuck by Ryan’s side when he first proposed his controversial GOP budget privatizing Medicare.

After Price resigned Friday, Ryan released a statement calling him a “good man” and “superb secretary” — as well as a friend.

“Tom Price is a good man,” Ryan said. “He has spent his entire adult life fighting for others, first as a physician and then as a legislator and public servant. He was a leader in the House and a superb health secretary. His vision and hard work were vital to the House’s success passing our health care legislation. I will always be grateful for Tom's service to this country and, above all, his continued friendship.”

