Rep. Paul Ryan, the leading candidate to be the next House speaker, announced today he will support the budget deal negotiated by Speaker John Boehner and President Barack Obama.
Ryan’s announcement comes a day after he criticized Boehner and Obama’s backroom dealmaking, which led to the spending package. In addition to raising the $18.1 trillion debt limit, the Boehner-Obama plan boosts government spending by $80 billion above the caps agreed to in 2011.
“What I’ve heard from members over the last two weeks is a desire to wipe the slate clean, put in place a process that builds trust, and start focusing on big ideas,” Ryan said in a statement, adding:



What has been produced will go a long way toward relieving the uncertainty hanging over us, and that’s why I intend to support it. It’s time for us to turn the page on the last few years and get to work on a bold agenda that we can take to the American people.