Story highlights House Speaker Paul Ryan was speaking at a forum

He has increasingly fallen in line behind Trump

(CNN) House Speaker Paul Ryan called Thursday for a "unified Republican government" behind Donald Trump, warning of the perils of cutting deals with Hillary Clinton if she wins the White House in the fall.

"I'm tired of divided government," Ryan said at a Thursday morning forum. "It doesn't work very well."

Ryan's comments are a stark contrast to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has said repeatedly that divided government is a time when "big things" could get done for the country. But House Republicans believe that the better Trump does on Election Day, the better their party's chances are in keeping control of Congress.

Ryan, who has increasingly fallen in line behind Trump after expressing initial reservations, said House Republicans next year would seek to implement their sweeping election-year agenda -- on issues ranging from health care to energy policy -- in concert with a President Trump.

Read More