Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) has revealed that during the 2016 presidential campaign, House Speaker Paul Ryan told him and his fellow Republicans to give up on Donald Trump's campaign and just focus their energy on keeping "President Hillary Clinton accountable." According to Ryan, the Republicans had no chance at the White House, so at the very least they should try to retain their House majority.
The directive came during a conference call, Gohmert told The Daily Caller in a video interview and then confirmed again during his appearance on "Fox & Friends" Sunday.
The Texas Republican, as you can imagine, was not thrilled with Ryan's suggestion.
“Are you crazy? We haven’t held anyone accountable. You haven’t even let us hold the IRS commissioner accountable [for using government power to harm President Obama’s political adversaries],” an astonished Gohmert said to the speaker on a call.
Speaker Ryan has not been conservatives' favorite leader as of late. By late May last year, he had still not properly endorsed Trump, though by then it was clear he was going to be the Republican presidential candidate. Ryan was just "not ready" to offer his support, he told CNN's Jake Tapper.
Gohmert has also spoken out against Ryan in regards to the now failed effort to repeal and replace Obamacare. During the House Freedom Caucus's discussions with the White House, the Texan claims that the conservative group was nearly ready to strike a deal with the president, but Ryan and then-Chief of Staff Reince Priebus advised Trump not to.
