In an interview at his committee office, Ryan acknowledges that convincing his colleagues to back the plan in its entirety will be an uphill climb. “Look, I never said this was a take-it-or-leave-it plan,” he points out. But he remains hopeful: “My sense is that Republicans see the world differently than they did a few years ago.”

House Democrats, freshly in the minority, sense an opportunity to needle Republicans. “They are caught between their rhetoric and reality,” Rep. Barney Frank (D., Mass.) notes in an interview with NRO. “Ryan is legit on this, but I don’t think the rest of them are. Maybe that’s partly why they gave him this power — so they can hide behind him.”

Rep. Anthony Weiner (D., N.Y.) echoes that line. “Republicans like to point to Ryan as their thought leader but appear to be deeply ambivalent about his thoughts,” he muses.