Paul Ryan to hold first public town hall in nearly 2 years

House Speaker Paul Ryan is planning to hold a town hall meeting Aug. 21, his first open to the public in nearly two years.

The town hall in Racine is being organized by CNN and will be hosted by Jake Tapper.

Ryan’s office says CNN will be in charge of attendance for the event and is inviting attendees from Ryan’s southeastern Wisconsin congressional district.

Republican and Democratic opponents have criticized Ryan for not holding a public town hall since October 2015.

Ryan has defended himself by saying he doesn’t want opponents from outside his district bussed in to disrupt any such meeting.

Ryan has instead opted to hold invite-only town halls at businesses in his district and over the telephone.

A news release from CN said the town hall would be at 9 p.m. ET, with Tapper serving as moderator.

CNN indicated the conversation likely would include discussions on the federal budget, debt and tax reform.

The town hall will air on CNN, CNN en Español, CNN International and will be carried by CNN’s SiriusXM Channel 116 and the Westwood One Radio Network.

Also, town Hall will stream live for subscribers of CNNgo (at CNN.com/go and via CNNgo apps for Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire, Samsung Smart TV and Android TV) and on the CNN mobile apps for iOS and Android.

The town hall also be available the day after the premiere on demand via cable/satellite systems, CNNgo platforms and CNN mobile apps.