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ByEricaWerner TheAssociatedPress WASHINGTON Straining to mend their party after months of chaos, Donald Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan declared them- selves "totally committed" to working together after a fence-mending personal meeting on Thursday. Ryan praised Trump as "very warm and genuine," and suggested that after initial hesitance he may well end up endorsing the GOP can- didate for president. "We will have policy dis- putes. There is no two ways about that. The question is, can we unify on the com- mon core principles that make our party," Ryan said. "And I'm very encour- aged that the answer to that question is yes." And Trump, who used the day to launch a robust charm offensive with mem- bers of Congress, broadcast his own enthusiasm over Twitter, saying: "Great day in D.C. with @SpeakerRyan and Republican leadership. Things working out really well! #Trump2016." The surprisingly fervent show of unity capped a re- markable week that began with Ryan, the GOP's top elected office-holder and its 2012 vice presidential nominee, turning his back on his party's presumptive presidential nominee just days after Trump had ef- fectively clinched the nom- ination. Ryan said at the time he was not yet ready to back Trump, who had succeeded in insulting women, Lati- nos, disabled people and many conservatives in the course of a brutal primary season. He also has alarmed the Republican establish- ment with proposals in- cluding deporting millions of immigrants and barring Muslims from the country. Yet in the days since, many GOP lawmakers — and voters themselves — have made peace with the reality that Trump is their candidate and therefore their only hope of defeating likely Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. Although some in the GOP fear Trump could spell election disaster and cost Repub- licans control of the Sen- ate and seats in the House, recent polls have shown a closer race, helping their comfort level. Ryan himself insisted from the beginning that his only goal was real party unity. His allies in the House have predicted he will get behind Trump in the end, and on Thurs- day Ryan sounded like he was well on his way. "We talked about what it takes to unify, where our differences were and how we can bridge these gaps going forward," Ryan said, praising Trump's "unpar- alleled" accomplishment in getting more votes already than any Republican presi- dential candidate in history — 10.9 million even before California and New Jersey vote in June. The two discussed "core principles" including lim- ited government, the Con- stitution, separation of powers and pro-life philos- ophy, Ryan said. Asked whether he would be endorsing Trump a week after his refusal to do so shocked the GOP, Ryan said: "Yeah, I think this is going in a positive direc- tion. And I think this was a first, very encouraging meeting." The two also issued a joint statement in which they pledged to work to- gether to beat Clinton. Trump, 69, and Ryan, 46, would make one of the odd- est of political odd couples, one a brash and unpredict- able billionaire with a mal- leable political philosophy and tendency to insult all comers, the other a wonky if telegenic Midwestern con- servative dedicated to par- ing back entitlements and with a big-tent view of the GOP. Like many political partnerships this one would be driven by necessity and a common foe, Clinton, whose candidacy is prov- ing a powerful incentive to Republicans of all kinds to bury their differences. Trump also met with other House GOP leaders, as well as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and his top deputies, and senators were later full of praise and offers of help. Sen. John Cornyn said he invited Trump to come to Texas and offered to help him with Latino voters. "I was fortunate enough to win the Hispanic vote in 2014. I said I'd be glad to share with you my experi- ence and observations be- cause that's an important part of the voters in 2016," Cornyn said. "I've always been im- pressed but I was really impressed today," said Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, add- ing they discussed the Su- preme Court, an impor- tant issue for conservatives who've questioned whether they can trust Trump to ap- point judges who would rat- ify their philosophy. PRESIDENTIAL RACE Tr um p, R ya n, p le dg e to w or k together, see end to ri in GOP CLIFFOWEN—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS House Speaker Paul Ryan speaks with reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Thursday following his meeting with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. By Sam Hananel and Ricardo Alonso- Zaldivar The Associated Press WASHINGTON In asetback for the Obama health care law, a federal judge ruled Thursday that the admin- istration is unconstitution- ally subsidizing medical bills for millions of people while ignoring congressio- nal power over government spending. The ruling from U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer was a win for House Republicans who brought the politically charged legal challenge in an effort to undermine the law. If the decision is upheld, it could roil the health care law's insurance markets, which are still struggling for stability after three years. Collyer said her ruling would be put on hold while it is appealed. The White House expressed confi- dence it would be over- turned. At issue is the $175 bil- lion the government is pay- ing to reimburse health insurers over a decade to reduce deductibles and co- payments for lower-income people. The House argues that Congress never specifi- cally appropriated that money and has denied an administration request for it. Collyer agreed that the administration is exceeding its constitu- tional authority by spend- ing the money anyway. She rejected the admin- istration's argument that the law authorizes the money automatically be- cause the program is con- sidered an "entitlement" like Social Security and Medicaid. House Republicans launched the lawsuit in 2014 over Democrats' ob- jections. The GOP-led House had already voted dozens of times to repeal all or parts of "Obam- acare," but those efforts went nowhere, failing to overcome opposition from Senate Democrats and the president. So the House turned its focus to tying up money spent on the law. Republi- can House leaders asserted that the Obama adminis- tration couldn't spend money that lawmakers re- fused to provide. House Speaker Paul Ryan called the deci- sion "an historic win for the Constitution and the American people." "The court ruled that the administration over- reached by spending tax- payer money without ap- proval from the people's representatives," he said in a statement. The administration is expected to appeal Thurs- day's ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Cir- cuit, where a majority of active judges have been appointed by Democrats. Collyer was appointed to the district court by Presi- dent George W. Bush, a Re- publican. About 12.7 million peo- ple are covered through insurance markets cre- ated by President Barack Obama's law. The dis- puted subsidies help lower-earning custom- ers afford out-of-pocket costs, such as annual in- surance deductibles and co-payments when they seek medical care. These subsidies, called "cost-sharing reductions" are separate from the fi- nancial aid provided un- der the law to help people pay their monthly premi- ums, which would not be affected. MEDICAL BILL SUBSIDIES Judge sides with House Republicans against federal health care law | NEWS | REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM FRIDAY, MAY 13, 2016 4 B