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Dem: Ryan worried Republicans will stab him in the back

by Bradford Richardson - 10/24/15 8:00 PM ET

Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) says likely Speaker-to-be Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) is afraid congressional Republicans will stab him in the back during upcoming budget negotiations.

“Ryan has said … ‘Listen, I feel an obligation to my country, my party to serve. All I’m asking is members of my party don’t try to stab me in the back politically and try to close the government down on me,’ ” Rangel told host John Catsimatidis on “The Cats Roundtable” on New York’s AM-970 in an interview set to air Sunday.

{mosads}“And so far, they haven’t fulfilled the request he’s asked for,” he added.

Congress passed a continuing resolution to fund the government through Dec. 11.

Passing a spending bill to avoid a government shutdown will be one of the early tests of a Ryan Speakership.

Some Republicans have said they will not vote for a budget that includes funding for Planned Parenthood.

Rangel said Americans should not tolerate Republicans threatening to shut down the government.

“The American people should find out who their member of Congress is, Democrat or Republican, and say America can’t tolerate this,” he said.

“We can’t allow a handful of people to bring down the Republican Party, the Congress, and the country.”

The New York lawmaker attributed the problem to Republicans who, “the more they tear down the president and the country, the more popular they are in their districts.”

Tags Charles Rangel Paul Ryan