Conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly is calling for Republicans to "get rid of" House Speaker Paul Ryan because of his strong support for open trade and immigration reform.
"Get rid of him," Schlafly, 91, known as the "Iron Lady" of American conservatism, told Breitbart News. "We don’t want anybody who believes in open borders.
"Obviously, Paul Ryan is not an 'America first' guy."
Ryan, 46, who was first elected to Congress in 1998, is facing a strong Republican primary challenge from Wisconsin business executive Paul Nehlen. That election is Tuesday.
Presidential nominee Donald Trump, whom Schlafly supports, refused to endorse Ryan on Tuesday. The speaker reluctantly backed Trump in June, though Ryan told a radio station in the Badger State on Thursday that support was not iron-clad.
Schlafly told Breitbart that Ryan's statements were undercutting Trump's chances to win the White House in November, proving "he’s not for American citizens."
"I don’t think we should accept him as speaker," she said. "We need a new leader in Congress who will represent the issues that Donald Trump ran on because they were the winning issues."
Schlafly also bashed Ryan's support for open borders trade and immigration policies, Breitbart reports.
"If he can’t get in line with majority of the electorate on the biggest issue [immigration], he should resign, and we should get someone who fulfills the wishes and the hopes of the majority who just nominated Trump," she said. "It doesn’t sound like he is loyal to the Republican Party.
"We need someone who is going to be a spokesman for the Republican Party and its nominee. And if Ryan doesn't fill that bill, we should get another one."
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