Originally posted by the Voice of America. Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America, a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in the public domain. On Capitol Hill, There's Unity Among Republicans of All Types by Katherine Gypson CAPITOL HILL -- Signs of the long, divisive presidential contest that nearly tore the Republican Party apart were nowhere to be seen Tuesday on Capitol Hill. Republican members of the House of Representatives easily renominated Paul Ryan to be their leader. In January, the new Congress will confirm him as speaker for his first full term. "This entire conference is unified and we are so eager to get to work with the president-elect," Ryan told reporters following the closed-door Republican conference. Washington-area high school students near the Library of Congress in Washington protest Donald Trump's election as president, Nov. 15, 2016. But the elated postelection mood for Republicans on the Hill showed cracks as nearly 1,000 Washington high school students marched to the Capitol, protesting Donald Trump's election, and criticism of his appointment of Steve Bannon, former executive chairman of the far-right-leaning Breitbart News, intensified. In an open letter to Trump, Democratic Representative David Cicilline of Rhode Island wrote that the "appointment of Stephen Bannon, whose ties to the white nationalist movement have been well-documented, directly undermines your ability to unite the country." As of midday Tuesday, the letter had 137 House Democrats as co-signers, but no House Republican supporters. "This is a person who helped him win an incredible victory and ran an incredible campaign. The president is going to be judged on the results of this administration," Ryan said of Bannon, who previously had called the speaker "the enemy." WATCH: Ryan on Working with Trump on Ambitious Republican Agenda Looking forward Ryan brushed off Bannon's past criticism in an earlier media availability Tuesday, saying he was not looking backward but forward. House Republicans said little about Bannon or the letter, focusing instead on a prospect that seemed unlikely just seven days ago: control of the White House and all of Congress. "This is as unified as I've seen the party," Representative Peter King of New York told reporters after the leadership nominations, saying the Never Trump movement no longer existed. "I don't think there's any of them around anymore -- there's Always Trumpers. I didn't support Donald Trump in the beginning either, but I think those who came along in stages were all impressed by the campaign he ran." Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y. speaks with reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington after a House Republican leadership meeting, Nov. 15, 2016. King said he didn't have any opinions about Bannon and would wait until the whole story about Trump's choice for chief White House strategist came out. Republican Representative Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania told reporters he had braced for much bigger losses on election night, expecting House Republicans to lose as many as 20 seats or more. Instead, Republicans only lost six seats, swept up in Trump's victory. Dent, who said he did not know Bannon, told reporters Trump's transition team would need to focus on "getting good, strong, quality people to fill those national security spots. I think that's the biggest challenge. The opportunities for him right now on are transportation, infrastructure, tax reform." New signs of unity The unified mood began early in the day as House Republicans convening for their first postelection weekly conference found a familiar sight on each seat: a red-and-white "Make America Great Again" hat. Many members left the meeting wearing the Trump campaign's signature hat, demonstrating a solidarity that had been in doubt until the Republican nominee's historic surprise win over Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton last week. "Welcome to the dawn of a new, unified Republican government," Ryan told reporters after the morning meeting. Ryan's position as speaker was widely assumed to be in jeopardy if Trump lost the presidential election, following a chaotic campaign season in which the Republican from Wisconsin walked a fine line between endorsing the nominee of his party and distancing himself from Trump's more controversial statements. Those days seemed forgotten, though, as Ryan greeted reporters for his first postelection press availability on Capitol Hill. "If we're going to put our country back on the right track, we have to go bold, and we have to go big," said Ryan, who unveiled "A Better Way" back in June -- a six-point legislative road map that tackles poverty, health care and tax reform, among other issues. House Majority Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana displays a "Make America Great Again" hat while speaking with reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington after a House Republican leadership meeting, Nov. 15, 2016. "There are going to be a lot more things made in America," said Representative Steve Scalise of Louisiana, holding up one of the hats, as he told reporters the first 100 days of a Trump administration would be crucial in getting the economy back on track. Funding government One of the immediate concerns moving forward will be funding the government after a continuing resolution expires December 9. "Those are decisions that are being made with the transition team; none of those have been made yet. We are now sitting down with the Trump administration-in-waiting, along with our colleagues, to come up with a game plan," Ryan said. As Republicans presented a unified front, House Democrats met just down the hallway for a much more introspective meeting. Representative Tim Ryan, a seven-term congressman from Ohio, confirmed Monday that he was interested in challenging current leader Nancy Pelosi of California for the top Democratic leadership spot. "We've been through hell," Pelosi told members, who ended up delaying their own leadership vote until November 30, after Congress returns from a Thanksgiving holiday break.