Brat praises Ryan but gives spending deal an 'F'

By Pete Kasperowicz, Pete Kasperowicz

Published December 20, 2015

Rep. Dave Brat said Thursday that House Speaker Paul Ryan deserves a high grade for trying to bring back regular order to the House, but still said the massive spending deal Ryan is hoping to pass on Friday deserves an "F."

"Not a good deal," said Brat, the Virginia Republican and member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, on C-SPAN Thursday morning. "This is what happens when you don't follow regular order."

"He's moving in good faith to make sure this does not happen again, so I give him an 'A' or 'B' on process," Brat said of Ryan's effort so far. "But on the product, this end product from this year, it's an 'F.'"

Brat and many other Republicans are giving Ryan a pass on the huge $1.1 trillion spending bill and the extra $80 billion it spends over the next two years, in large part because the bill was set up by Ryan's predecessor, John Boehner. Many GOP members said the real test will be next year, when it will be seen if Ryan can avoid another giant spending bill at the end of the year.