--- title: Paul Ryan: Some Republicans Are Flirting With Progressivism description: The House Speaker says his Republican Party is having a tough time figuring out what it means to be conservative these days. canonical: https://time.com/4434199/paul-ryan-koch-progressives/ author: Philip Elliott article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-08-01T21:13:00.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:48:19.072Z article:section: Politics og:title: Paul Ryan: Some Republicans Are Flirting With Progressivism og:description: He issues a warning at Koch event. og:url: https://time.com/4434199/paul-ryan-koch-progressives/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt09f545e49fc6dd48/6988a0b5cf40a88f9ec444e2/gettyimages-578135788-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 594 og:image:height: 334 og:image:alt: Speaker Paul Ryan speaks on the third day of the Republican National Convention on July 20, 2016 at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Paul Ryan: Some Republicans Are Flirting With Progressivism twitter:description: He issues a warning at Koch event. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt09f545e49fc6dd48/6988a0b5cf40a88f9ec444e2/gettyimages-578135788-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Paul Ryan Warns That Some Republicans Are Flirting With Progressivism > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Philip Elliott / Colorado Springs, Colo.](https://time.com/author/philip-elliott/)  ## Philip Elliott / Colorado Springs, Colo. Senior Correspondent Aug 1, 2016 9:13 PM UTC  Speaker Paul Ryan speaks on the third day of the Republican National Convention on July 20, 2016 at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. Speaker Paul Ryan speaks on the third day of the Republican National Convention on July 20, 2016 at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. Win McNamee—2016 Getty Images  by [Philip Elliott / Colorado Springs, Colo.](https://time.com/author/philip-elliott/)  ## Philip Elliott / Colorado Springs, Colo. Senior Correspondent Aug 1, 2016 9:13 PM UTC House Speaker Paul Ryan warned some of his Republican Party’s biggest donors on Monday that some in the GOP are flirting with progressive ideas and kowtowing to frustrated voters on trade. Speaking on the final day of a retreat for donors to the network of groups backed by billionaires Charles and David Koch, the Republican leader cast the current debate in Washington a “fight for the soul of our party and for our country.” He made only oblique references to Republican nominee Donald Trump and instead promised these 400 donors, who give at least $100,000 to the Koch groups, that next year would be one packed with reforms—if Republicans can unify. “We’ve got to win some of these fights in Washington on behalf of the free-market system. We have our work cut out for us,” Ryan said at the grand Broadmoor resort. It’s not clear, though, that a President Trump would be on the same page as Ryan, especially on the issues of trade. Ryan says the United States should be a leader on trade deals, while Trump wants to tear them up. “We have a different kind of nominee now. It’s unique,” Ryan said. Speaking of the thorny issue of trade, the Speaker was honest: “We’re having a hard time with our party these days.” Trump won the Republican nomination by railing against trade deals and promising that manufacturing jobs would return if only better international agreements were written. Frustrated voters flocked to Trump and his vague notions. This network of Koch allies, known formally as Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce, watched in horror. “We are flirting with various forms of progressivism, and there are Republican forms of progressivism. Teddy Roosevelt was a Republican,” Ryan said. “We have to thoroughly debunk it, repudiate it.” Even so, Ryan has endorsed Trump, a nominee who has few friends at this retreat. Charles Koch [told](http://time.com/4432409/charles-koch-hillary-clinton-blood-libel/) guests he cannot back either party’s nominee and instead will focus on keeping a Republican majority in the Senate. 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