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List of speakers at RNC includes Paul Ryan, Ted Cruz

By Eric DuVall
Cleveland's Quicken Loans Arena will play host to the Republican National Convention beginning Monday. The list of GOP lumanaries scheduled to speak -- as well as those who will not be in attendance to support Donald Trump -- is coming into focus. File Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI
Cleveland's Quicken Loans Arena will play host to the Republican National Convention beginning Monday. The list of GOP lumanaries scheduled to speak -- as well as those who will not be in attendance to support Donald Trump -- is coming into focus. File Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo

CLEVELAND, July 13 (UPI) -- Despite a number of high-profile snubs, the list of speakers at Donald Trump's Republican National Convention next week includes several top Republicans, according to multiple media reports.

Among those slated to address the convention is the nation's top elected Republican, House Speaker Paul Ryan, who has recently been on a media tour promoting Republican unity in the general election.

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Ryan endorsed Trump after several weeks where he withheld his support and has been critical of some of Trump's more controversial proposals such as a ban on Muslim immigration and criticism of a federal judge with Mexican heritage. Ryan, the GOP's 2012 vice presidential nominee, has said a Trump presidency would help make it more possible to enact a conservative agenda in Congress.

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Politico reports Ryan is scheduled to give a 10-minute prime time address.

Trump's former rival for the nomination, Sen. Ted Cruz, told reporters last week Trump asked him to speak at the convention and he agreed.

Ryan's top deputy, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy is also scheduled to speak about the House GOP's agenda.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is also on the speaker list, though his office declined to offer details on when he will speak or what he intends to address.

Sen. Tom Cotton, chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he will address the convention on issues of national security and veterans affairs. Cotton was said to be on Trump's list of potential vice presidential picks before he took himself out of the running.

Sen. Jodi Ernst of Iowa, another potential running mate who took herself out of consideration last week, will also hold down a prime-time speaking slot, according to the Des Moines Register.

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani is also scheduled to address the convention. Giuliani has been an outspoken conservative voice on national security matters and has supported some of Trump's more controversial proposals on the issue.

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Trump has also said his wife, Melania, and four adult children will also address the convention.

Trump has also recruited former Indiana University basketball coach Bobby Knight to speak.

When Trump himself addresses the convention, the list of those not in attendance will also be a factor.

Four of the last five men to claim the GOP nomination -- Mitt Romney, John McCain, George W. Bush and his father, George H.W. Bush -- will not be there.

The only former GOP nominee who will be in attendance is Bob Dole, the nominee in 1996.

Other high profile Republicans have also indicated they intend to stay away, including Trump's former primary rival, Sen. Marco Rubio, who said he has shifted his focus to a Senate re-election campaign.

And despite the fact the convention is happening in his own state, another of Trump's former rivals, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, has failed to say whether he will be inside Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland when Trump accepts the nomination.

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A Kasich spokesman said the governor will have "a full schedule of events around the convention" but that he has not "asked for a speaking slot, and [has] zero expectation of receiving one."

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