“I think one of the reasons we’re a polarized, high-anxiety country is because we’ve had pretty flat economic growth and pretty flat opportunity,” he said. “Most people haven’t got a pay increase. Most people, half the people in this country, live paycheck to paycheck, so there’s a lot of economic anxiety. And I think just one of the key solutions is faster economic growth, more jobs. And I think the best thing we could do to deliver that is tax reform.”

In achieving success, Mr. Ryan will need to work hand-in-hand with President Trump, who yearns for a tax cut victory as much as Mr. Ryan does. The speaker has had a complicated relationship with the president, a man he barely knew before the campaign, beginning with Mr. Ryan’s decision at the conclusion of the primary season to temporarily withhold his support from the presumptive nominee.

Now his decision to regularly back the president and not chastise him for various perceived unpresidential acts has drawn Mr. Ryan scorn from those who think he should follow the example of his friend and former Republican House colleague, Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona, and condemn the president’s conduct. Mr. Ryan disagrees.

“I don’t see why we would want to start a circular firing squad in our party when we have an opportunity that’s almost a once-in-a lifetime opportunity to make a big change for people’s lives,” he said, breaking with Mr. Flake. “That’s not what people voted us in to do, is scream and yell and call each other out and, you know, get into these shouting matches. They elected us to fix their problems, not grouse about, you know, personality differences.”

Mr. Ryan is heading into a 2018 midterm election in which Republicans are predicted to lose seats and see their majority shrink, if not disappear. The outcome of the tax fight is certain to influence events.

The new proposal will undergo changes as it makes its way through Congress. If those revisions aren’t enough to secure passage and win public appreciation, it may be House Republicans and their leader who are in store for big changes of their own.

____________

How do I listen?

On your iPhone or iPad:

Open the preloaded app called Podcasts; it has a purple icon. If you’re reading this from your phone, tap this link, which will take you straight there. (You can also use the magnifying glass icon to search; type “The New Washington.”)