WASHINGTON - House Speaker Paul Ryan says Republicans need to stop fighting angrily among themselves and not be distracted by guns or other "hot-button" issues that President Barack Obama raises.

The Wisconsin Republican said Wednesday that instead, the GOP needs to unite behind a conservative, pro-growth agenda they can display to voters in the November elections.

Ryan's remarks at a Heritage Action for America policy meeting followed a year that saw bitter strife between congressional conservatives and more pragmatic Republicans that led to the departure of the prior speaker, Ohio Rep. John Boehner.

Despite Ryan's call for harmony, Republicans may struggle this election year to push a budget through Congress because of divisions over spending levels.

Ryan said Republicans "can't fall into the progressives' trap of acting like angry reactionaries."