Ryan cheers Trump's Carrier deal

Speaker Paul Ryan applauded Donald Trump’s deal with Indiana manufacturer Carrier Corp., brushing aside questions about whether it's good policy and praising the president-elect for persuading the company to keep jobs in the U.S.

Ryan, an economic conservative, was asked during a Thursday news conference whether he was “uneasy” with the Carrier deal that could be construed as the federal government picking winners and losers — an idea that many Republicans have rejected in the past.


“Well, I’m pretty happy that we’re keeping jobs in America — aren’t you?” the Wisconsin Republicans responded. “I don’t know the details of the Carrier arrangement … but I think it’s pretty darn good that people are keeping their jobs in Indiana instead of going to Mexico.”

As part of the deal, Carrier agreed to ditch plans to move some jobs to Mexico, keeping a factory in Indianapolis in exchange for $7 million in tax breaks, according to The Wall Street Journal. Carrier's parent company also has substantial federal government contracts, and the deal with Trump was reported to be a proactive move to protect those deals.

Ryan also said his good friend, Vice President-elect Mike Pence, the outgoing governor of Indiana, likely had a hand in this arrangement since “this is what governors do" — bargain with companies to try to prevent jobs from leaving their state.

Pressed on the matter a second time, Ryan said “I don’t know much about it so there’s not much I can say much about it.” But he defended the part of the Carrier deal that includes a promise for tax reductions.

“What I can tell you about the tax code with respect to incentives for businesses is: This is what tax reform is all about,” he said. “Comprehensive tax reform ... is about making the tax code far better and more competitive for American businesses to stay in America.”

“I don’t know the contours of what Carrier is experiencing, but we tax our businesses at much much higher tax rates than our competitors tax theirs.”