Paul Ryan changed his mind to align with Donald Trump over DACA

(Credit: AP Photo/Morry Gash, File)

In light of President Donald Trump announcing the impending repeal of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, House Speaker Paul Ryan is walking back a statement he made last week urging Trump not to end the policy.

After claiming that President Barack Obama “overstepped” his constitutional authority when he implemented DACA, Ryan defended Trump’s new policy on Tuesday by arguing that “President Trump was right in his decision. He made the right call.”

Ryan added, “I’m also encouraged by the fact that he gave us time to work out a consensus, to find a compromise. Because these kids don’t, for the most part, don’t know any other home than the United States.”

Speaker Paul Ryan on DACA: "President Trump was right in his decision. He made the right call." https://t.co/J7LmHQGfZL

— NBC News (@NBCNews) September 6, 2017

Ryan’s position here contradicts the House Speaker’s answer to a question posed last week about what he would do if Trump tried to repeal DACA. During an appearance on his hometown radio station WCLO in Janesville, Wisconsin, Ryan said that Congress was in the process of trying to address GOP concerns with Obama’s policy from a legislative standpoint.

When confronted with the possibility that Trump would take the initiative, Ryan replied “I actually don’t think he should do that. I believe that this is something that Congress has to fix.”

Ryan also expressed dismay at the time for how he felt his predecessor had handled the issue, even as he promised to try to protect the so-called “Dreamers” — children of parents who immigrated illegally to the United States, and who are usually too young to know of any other home.

As Ryan explained, “President Obama does not have the authority to do what he did . . . we’ve made that very clear. Having said all of that, there are people who are in limbo. These are kids who know no other country, who were brought here by their parents and don’t know another home. And so I really do believe there that there needs to be a legislative solution.”