FILE – This Nov. 13, 2013 file photo shows House Budget Committee Chairman Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., left, speaking with Senate Budget Committee Chair Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash. on Capitol Hill in Washington at the start of a Congressional Budget Conference. Ryan likened his 2-year budget agreement with Democrats to taking a few steps in the right direction. But the bipartisan deal also carries potential value for Republicans and Ryan himself at a time when the party lacks a clear leader ahead of the 2014 midterm election. If the agreement eventually comes to represent the badly needed bridge between Republican factions, Ryan was its builder. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Rep. Paul Ryan says he was frustrated with conservative groups that protested the bipartisan budget deal he helped engineer.
The House Budget Committee chairman tells NBC’s “Meet the Press” that these groups are “very important elements” of the conservative movement. But the Wisconsin Republican says such discussions should be kept “within the family.”
Ryan says he and House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio were frustrated that the groups voiced opposition to the budget agreement before it had been reached.
The 2012 GOP vice presidential candidate says he shares the same goals as the groups — trying to balance the budget and pay off debts without raising taxes. But Ryan says they sometimes differ on tactics.
Ryan says the compromise agreement is an important first step.
