Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Paul Ryan told his fellow Republicans on Monday that he will no longer defend Donald Trump and will instead use the next 29 days to focus on preserving his party's hold on Congress, giving a huge setback to the party's presidential nominee.
CNN quoted Ryan's spokeswoman, AshLee Strong as saying in a statement that "The speaker is going to spend the next month focused entirely on protecting our congressional majorities."
Speaking with the members in a conference call, Ryan told them, "You all need to do what's best for you and your district," according to someone who listened to the meeting.
Meanwhile, Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus has reiterated his support to the GOP nominee Trump.
In a call with RNC committeemen, Priebus said, "Nothing has changed in regard with our relationship." He added that the Trump campaign and RNC are in full coordination.
Responding to the House speaker on Twitter, Trump tweeted on Monday that Ryan should focus on other policy areas instead of fighting with the Republican nominee.
"Paul Ryan should spend more time on balancing the budget, jobs and illegal immigration and not waste his time on fighting Republican nominee," he added.
At least eight members of the party angrily pushed back at Ryan stating that the party needs to be united for the elections in November to keep the majority.
However, Ryan has not made it clear that whether he would provide proactive support for his party's presidential candidate or not.
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