When Jimmy Kimmel reported the “major disturbance in the Force” that was House Speaker Paul Ryan’s surprise retirement announcement Wednesday night, he could not have been happier about the news.
After playing the clip in which Ryan said he was “leaving this majority in good hands with what I believe is a very bright future,” Kimmel laughed as he added, “Say what you want about Paul Ryan, he’s got a great sense of humor.”
“Ryan said he wants to spend more time with his children,” the host said. “And by ‘with’ he means away from, and by ‘children’ he means Donald Trump. And he said he’s retiring from Congress with no regrets. His only regret is not taking health care away from more poor people. That will haunt him for some time.”
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Kimmel has never been a fan of Ryan’s—especially when it comes to the health care issue. Last December, when CNN reported that Ryan was “soul searching” on his future, he tweeted, “Search all you want, you won’t ever find it.” A month later, he accused Ryan and the rest of the GOP leadership of holding sick kids hostage in an attempt to pass their spending bill.
“All Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell had to do is put it up for a vote, it would have been a done deal,” Kimmel said at the time. “But they decided to use it as a bargaining tool instead.”
After showing a short film chronicling Ryan’s final, sad day at the congressional gym, Kimmel suggested that the Wisconsin Republican follow in his predecessor John Boehner’s footsteps and get into the marijuana business.
“Which is an interesting move, because nine years ago, Boehner said he was unalterably opposed to the legalization of marijuana,” Kimmel said. “But after some soul searching, a large financial incentive, and several very deep bong hits, he chilled out and totally changed his mind on this one.”
