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Ryan told a Kentucky radio station Tuesday that “you cannot end birthright citizenship with an executive order,” following remarks from the President indicating that Trump believes he can do just that, though many legal scholars disagree.
An aide to Ryan declined to comment to CNN on the President’s tweet.
Separately, a senior GOP aide defended Ryan when asked about Trump’s tweet.
“This is a great way to screw up the message a week before the election,” this aide told CNN. “First the birthright comment itself and now attacking the top Republican in Congress who is trying to save our majority.”
Trump repeated his claim that he can eliminate birthright citizenship via executive order later Wednesday, although he said his preference would be for Congress to pass legislation ending that constitutional right.
“I believe you can have a simple vote in Congress,” Trump told reporters as he left the White House. “You can do it through an executive order.”
“I’d rather do it through Congress because that’s permanent, but we can certainly do it through — I really (believe) we can do it through executive order,” he added, noting he had discussed the issue with legal scholars.
“If President Obama can get DACA approved … we can do this by executive order,” Trump said.
During the interview on Tuesday, Ryan quickly sought to emphasize common ground with the President on immigration policy, despite saying that it was not possible to end birthright citizenship via executive order.
“Where we obviously totally agree with the President is getting at the root issue here, which is unchecked illegal immigration,” Ryan said. “We — House Republicans and this President — are in total agreement on the need to stop illegal immigration, to secure our border and fix our laws.”
The midterm elections, where Republicans are at risk of losing their majority in the House, take place next Tuesday.
Republicans are viewed as more likely to retain the Senate than the House and Democratic leaders are projecting confidence that they will win the lower chamber of Congress.
This isn’t the first time Trump has lashed out at Ryan.
CNN’s Jim Acosta, Elizabeth Landers, Rebecca Berg and Manu Raju contributed to this report.
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