Ryan distances himself from spending bill

By Dan Friedman, Dan Friedman

Published December 21, 2015

House Speaker Paul Ryan defended but distanced himself from the $1.1 trillion spending bill Congress just passed to the dismay of many conservatives.

"This is divided government, and in divided government you don't get everything you want," Ryan, a Wisconsin Republican, said in a taped interview for NBC's "Meet the Press."

Ryan put responsibility for the agreement on his predecessor, former Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio. Ryan said the bill was largely negotiated when he became speaker seven weeks ago.

"I walked into the speakership seven weeks ago with this process already in place, with this cake already baked," he told host Chuck Todd.