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Incoming House speaker Ryan says he’ll vote for budget pact

FILE - In this April 5, 2011 file photo, then-House Budget Committee Chairman Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., introduces his controversial "Path to Prosperity" budget recommendations, on Capitol Hill in Washington. Ryan has spent his entire life preparing for a job he says he never wanted. Ryan worked as a congressional intern in college, returning later to work as a paid staffer on Capitol Hill. By 28, he was a member of the House. By his early 40s, he was the chairman of the House Budget Committee and then the powerful tax-writing Ways and Means Committee. In 2012, he was a vice presidential candidate and a talked-about future presidential contender. This week, Ryan is set to become Speaker of the House, second in line to the presidency (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File) FILE - In this April 5, 2011 file photo, then-House Budget Committee Chairman Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., introduces his controversial "Path to Prosperity" budget recommendations, on Capitol Hill in Washington. Ryan has spent his entire life preparing for a job he says he never wanted. Ryan worked as a congressional intern in college, returning later to work as a paid staffer on Capitol Hill. By 28, he was a member of the House. By his early 40s, he was the chairman of the House Budget Committee and then the powerful tax-writing Ways and Means Committee. In 2012, he was a vice presidential candidate and a talked-about future presidential contender. This week, Ryan is set to become Speaker of the House, second in line to the presidency (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

By Associated Press October 28, 2015 1 min read

WASHINGTON (AP) – Rep. Paul Ryan – expected to be the next House speaker – says he’ll vote for a bipartisan budget bill even though he thinks the process that produced the measure “stinks.”

A House vote is expected Wednesday on legislation that settles fights over defense and domestic spending, and federal borrowing until early 2017.

Congress had faced a Nov. 3 deadline to raise the government’s borrowing limit – or risk a first-ever default.

The Wisconsin Republicans says in a statement that “we are facing a hard deadline and few good options.”

He says the budget deal includes “meaningful reforms” to strengthen safety net programs such as Social Security and gives the military money it needs.

Still, Ryan is unhappy with the secretive, top-level process, and says he’ll operate differently as speaker.