Speaker defends Trump ban as veep addresses GOP concernsWASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Paul Ryan defended President Donald Trump's divisive executive order on refugees and immigration Tuesday, while Vice President Mike Pence promised frustrated Republican senators better communication on major policy issues going forward.
"The president has a responsibility to the security of this country," Ryan told reporters after renewing his support for the temporary entry ban during a closed-door meeting with GOP House members.
While calling initial confusion over the rollout "regrettable," Ryan added: "What is happening is something that we support, which is, we need to pause. And we need to make sure the vetting standards are up to snuff so that we can guarantee the safety and security of our country. That is what this does."
GOP congressional leadership was frozen out of the drafting of the measure, and Ryan acknowledged he didn't find out the details until Friday as Trump was signing the order to shut off the Syrian refugee program indefinitely and halt the U.S. refugee program and all entries from seven Muslim-majority nations for 90 days.
The action triggered mass confusion and chaos worldwide, split families and set off protests at airports across the country...
...Concerns seemed fewer on the House side, where Ryan reminded lawmakers that Trump's executive order was similar to legislation they themselves had voted for in 2014 cracking down on refugee admissions, although the bill never got through the Senate...
...Another lawmaker, Rep. Dennis Ross of Florida, said the speaker's message was, "'Look this shouldn't be a surprise to anybody, this is what we all campaigned on ... We're looking at eight years of a legacy that we're essentially undoing.'...
https://www.yahoo.com/news/speaker-defends-trumps-order-warns-protests-162108871--politics.html
