House Speaker Paul Ryan said Thursday that "it was perfectly appropriate" for Deputy AG Rod Rosentstein to appoint a Special Counsel in the Russia investigation. Just yesterday he said the three ongoing Russia investigations are enough.

• On whether Trump scandals are slowing down the political agenda: "It's always nice to have less drama" said Ryan, but Congress can "walk and chew gum" at the same time.
• Would the GOP be better off with Pence as president? "I'm not even going to give credence to that."
• "Our goal for tax reform is calendar year 2017... I feel very confident we can meet this goal."