Ryan: Budget Deal Lets GOP Focus on Debt Limit, Obamacare

House Budget Committee chairman Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) argued that caving on the budget to pass the legislative deal he cut with Senate Budget Committee chairwoman Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) should be done so that the GOP can focus on Obamacare.

“On our side of the aisle, we like the fact for the economy, no shutdowns,” Ryan said while appearing with Murray on Meet the Press on Sunday. “We also don’t want to have shutdown drama so we can focus on replacing Obamacare, so we can focus on showing better ideas and what this is coming in. Because we don’t think people like this law and we don’t think it’s gonna get any more popular. We don’t agree on this. So each of us gets something out of this that we think is good.”

On the same day, however, Ryan contradicted himself by saying that Republicans should fight on the debt ceiling. Appearing on Fox News Sunday, Ryan said the GOP should fight to get something out of the debt ceiling battle instead of focusing solely on Obamacare, contrary to what he argued on Meet the Press.

“We don’t want nothing out of this debt limit,” Ryan said. “We are going to decide what it is we can accomplish out of this debt-limit fight.”

The debt ceiling fight will peak in February when the nation will reach its borrowing limit.

Critics have questioned if Ryan pushed the budget deal through to clear the legislative pathway for immigration reform that would grant legal status and eventually citizenship to America’s at least 11 million illegal aliens.