--- title: Donald Trump: Paul Ryan Congratulates Him on Election Win description: "This is the most incredible political feat I have seen in my lifetime," Paul Ryan said Wednesday of Donald Trump's victory canonical: https://time.com/4564465/paul-ryan-donald-trump-election/ author: Maya Rhodan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-11-09T17:51:25.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:45:20.137Z article:section: Politics og:title: Paul Ryan: Donald Trump's Election Is 'Most Incredible Political Feat I Have Seen' og:description: "He turned politics on its head and now Donald Trump will lead an unified Republican government" og:url: https://time.com/4564465/paul-ryan-donald-trump-election/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8948b05798a80abb/6988adcc196cf4ed6d03dea6/gettyimages-621808402.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: House Speaker Paul Ryan Holds Election Night Event In Janesville, Wisconsin og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Paul Ryan: Donald Trump's Election Is 'Most Incredible Political Feat I Have Seen' twitter:description: "He turned politics on its head and now Donald Trump will lead an unified Republican government" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8948b05798a80abb/6988adcc196cf4ed6d03dea6/gettyimages-621808402.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Paul Ryan: Donald Trump's Election Is 'Most Incredible Political Feat I Have Seen in My Lifetime' > 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 [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Nov 9, 2016 5:51 PM UTC  With his wife Janna by his side Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Paul Ryan (R-WI) greets supporters at an election-night rally on November 8, 2016 in Janesville, Wisconsin. Scott Olson—Getty Images With his wife Janna by his side Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Paul Ryan (R-WI) greets supporters at an election-night rally on November 8, 2016 in Janesville, Wisconsin. Scott Olson—Getty Images Scott Olson—Getty Images by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Nov 9, 2016 5:51 PM UTC [House Speaker Paul Ryan](http://time.com/tag/paul-ryan/) on Wednesday congratulated [President-elect Donald Trump](http://time.com/4563946/election-2016-donald-trump-victory-how/), calling his win a historic moment in our nation’s history. Ryan spoke from Janesville, Wisc. on the heels of his own win and a victory for Republicans in the typically blue state, which dealt a surprise blow to [Hillary Clinton](http://time.com/4564480/read-hillary-clintons-concession-speech-full-transcript/). “This is the most incredible political feat I have seen in my lifetime,” Ryan said. “Donald Trump heard a voice in this country that no one else heard…he turned politics on its head and now Donald Trump will lead an unified Republican government.” Ryan said he spoke to both Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence Wednesday morning and added he believes their relationship is in a good place after a tumultuous campaign. The House Speaker was [initially reluctant to endorse Trump](http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/02/politics/paul-ryan-endorses-donald-trump/) as the Republican presidential nominee and by fall he decided to shift focus away from the candidate and toward protecting vulnerable lawmakers. In response, Trump blasted Ryan for being “[disloyal.](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/12/us/politics/donald-trump-paul-ryan.html)” On Wednesday, Ryan said many of Republicans’ Election Night wins were because candidates were able to ride Trump’s coattails to victory. “We won more seats than anyone expected and most of that is thanks to Donald Trump,” he said. The new, unified Republican government, Ryan said, signals a new way forward for both the country and Washington. He hopes that unity will carry over to the American people, including those who voted for Clinton. “We have a very clear agenda, we believe in the principles of the Constitution,” he said of Republicans. “This is exciting. For those people who are concerned, this is the time to unify.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4564465/paul-ryan-donald-trump-election/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4564465/paul-ryan-donald-trump-election/"},"headline":"Paul Ryan: Donald Trump's Election Is 'Most Incredible Political Feat I Have Seen in My Lifetime'","datePublished":"2016-11-09T17:51:25.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-19T07:45:20.137Z","description":"\"He turned politics on its head and now Donald Trump will lead an unified Republican government\"","url":"https://time.com/4564465/paul-ryan-donald-trump-election/","keywords":["2016 Election","republicans","2016 Election","Congress","Paul Ryan"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8948b05798a80abb/6988adcc196cf4ed6d03dea6/gettyimages-621808402.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Maya Rhodan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8948b05798a80abb/6988adcc196cf4ed6d03dea6/gettyimages-621808402.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"House Speaker Paul Ryan Holds Election Night Event In Janesville, Wisconsin","caption":"House Speaker Paul Ryan Holds Election Night Event In Janesville, Wisconsin","creditText":"Scott Olson—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/2016-election/","name":"2016 Election"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4564465/paul-ryan-donald-trump-election/","name":"Paul Ryan: Donald Trump's Election Is 'Most Incredible Political Feat I Have Seen in My Lifetime'"}}]}] ```