House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan on Thursday met President-elect Donald Trump for the first time since his historic win on Tuesday.
Trump, Ryan and incoming vice president, Mike Pence, ate lunch at the Capitol Hill Club, and the three then headed to the Speaker's Office for a meeting, according to CNN.
The two had a tense relationship during the election campaign. Ryan said he was not “ready to support” Trump as the Republican presidential candidate, before ultimately endorsing him.
The Speaker was still critical of Trump at times, notably distancing himself from the presidential nominee after leaked video tapes surfaced, showing him making graphic comments about women.
Ryan faces a vote next Tuesday to keep his job as speaker and appears in good position to keep his gavel. But an enthusiastic vote of confidence from the President-elect could help smooth over ill feelings within the party and ward off any potential protest vote against him, noted CNN.
Pence is a friend and former colleague from his time serving in the House as representative from Indiana. The meeting, at the Capitol Hill Club just off the campus of the U.S. Capitol was the first face-to-face get together since the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, although the Speaker noted Wednesday he spoke twice with Trump since he was declared the winner.
Ryan was surprised by Trump’s upset Tuesday, but was quick to give him credit for tapping into a sentiment other politicians didn't appear to grasp.
"Donald Trump heard a voice out in this country that no one else heard. He connected with -- he connected in ways with people no one else did. He turned politics on its head and now Donald trump will lead a unified Republican government," Ryan said Wednesday in a news conference in his Wisconsin home town.
Ryan also said Trump helped GOP candidates across the country get elected and declared he "earned a mandate."