Paul Ryan said he is committed to working with him on enacting GOP priorities. | AP Photo Ryan scrambles to partner with Trump After a tension-filled campaign between the two, they could huddle as soon as this week.

JANESVILLE, Wis. — House Speaker Paul Ryan is moving swiftly publicly and privately to sync up with Donald Trump, and seize on a monumental opportunity to realize the conservative platform the speaker has spent years waiting to enact.

After months of tension between the two, Ryan and Trump have enlisted their staffs to set up a meeting as soon as this week to begin initial planning for the first unified government in nearly a decade. Ryan and Trump spoke twice in the hours after the presidential election was called. Ryan also connected with Vice President-elect Mike Pence — his friend of nearly two decades — and the speaker's team has been in touch with Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), who is taking an increased role in the White House transition effort.


Ryan is making clear that he intends to mount an aggressive bid for the speakership. Though Ryan and Trump have stark differences on some policies, on others they're in sync: Repealing Obamacare, overhauling the Dodd-Frank, and slashing federal business regulation, to name some.

The speaker’s allies said Wednesday they're increasingly confident about the his internal political position and that they believe he’s beginning to develop a rapport with the incoming president. A source familiar with one of the phone calls between the two men described it as positive, saying that the president-elect sounded broadly supportive of Ryan’s speakership. They spoke after Trump won the election when Ryan was at his election night party at the Holiday Inn here, and again Wednesday morning.

If the hopes of a partnership pan out – and Trump publicly backs Ryan to remain in the job – the speaker’s supporters say they believe he could win another term with relative ease. But Trump is unpredictable, and no one knows whether he’ll be willing to move that readily past Ryan’s public parting with him during the campaign. On the other hand, if Trump opposes Ryan he could risk alienating a wide swath of the House Republican Conference.

Internal GOP leadership elections are on Tuesday. No one has yet announced a bid against Ryan.

Questions about Ryan's future as speaker first arose immediately after Trump was declared the winner, given the speaker's repeated criticism of the president-elect during the campaign and distancing from him a month before the election. Many have speculated whether Trump would seek revenge by forcing him from the speakership. Some of Trump's top allies seem to want to.

But while Ryan declined Wednesday to say explicitly whether Trump committed to supporting him as speaker, his allies Wednesday morning seemed confident he'd retain the gavel. In one sign, Fox News host and staunch Trump ally Sean Hannity tweeted around 1 a.m. Wednesday that "it's up to [Trump] and Congress if Paul Ryan should be speaker." Just a few hours before, Hannity had declared Ryan would not remain speaker.

“We had great conversations about how we’d work together on the transition,” Ryan said when asked if Trump committed to supporting him as speaker during a press conference in his hometown Wednesday. “So yes, I am very excited about our ability to work together.”

Ryan also congratulated Trump on his historic win. The speaker said he and Trump agree on "the importance of bringing this country together" and are committed to working together on enacting GOP priorities.

"Donald Trump heard a voice out in this country that no one else heard. He connected in ways with people that no one else did. He turned politics on his head," said Ryan, who called Trump’s victory “the most incredible political feat I have seen in my lifetime.” “Now, Donald Trump will lead a unified Republican government, and we will work hand-in-hand on a positive agenda to tackle this country’s big challenges."

Asked whether he could partner on legislation with the president-elect in light of his past criticism of Trump and decision to keep the controversial nominee at arm’s length, Ryan said, “Our relationship is fine,” adding, “I think we are going to hit the ground running."

Ryan also credited Trump for helping to keep House Republican losses to a minimum. The House Republican Conference will likely lose less than ten seats, when as many as 20 losses looked possible.

“Our House majority is bigger than expected. We won more seats than anyone expected — and much of that is thanks to Donald Trump,” he said. “Donald Trump provided a lot of coattails to get people over the finish line to maintain our strong House and Senate majorities.”

Ryan also hailed GOP control of the White House and Congress as a chance to get his policy agenda enacted, starting with repealing Obamacare. “It’s not just the health care law that we can replace … Think of the farmers here in Wisconsin being harassed by the EPA. Think about ranchers in the West getting harassed by the Interior Department."

“There is relief coming,” he vowed. “This is good for our country. This means we can lift the oppressive weight of the regulatory state, restore the Constitution… this is very exciting.”

He also acknowledged that the country remains “sharply divided” and said it’s time to “heal and unify,” including across party lines.

"This needs to be a time of redemption, not a time of recrimination,” he said. "We all need to dedicate ourselves to making America great and making it a more perfect union."