Paul Ryan delivers farewell address: Live updates – CNN

House Speaker Paul Ryan, in his farewell address at the Library of Congress Great Hall just now, touted years of economic growth under his leadership and the Trump administration:

“Three years ago, when we last gathered in this hall, we began a great journey,” he said. “To set our nation on a better path. To move our economy from stagnation to growth.”

Ryan and his fellow Republicans criticized the policies of President Obama for leading to a weak economic recovery after the great recession ended in June 2009. Back when Ryan assumed the speakership in October 2015, the budget sequester was still having a residual effect by reducing federal spending.

Under President Trump, however, GDP growth has picked up, rising to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 2.8 percent, including a high of 4.2 percent during the second quarter of this year.

For context, during the last seven years of Obama’s presidency, the GDP grew at just 2.1 percent.

Job growth, however, has been similar, if not slightly better during the end of the Obama administration, as Republicans held both the House and the Senate. During Trump’s time in office, the economy has added an average of 196,000 jobs a month, compared to 212,000 jobs a month over the last two years of the Obama administration.