Republican Majority Leader Paul Ryan has held private conversations with 2016 leading GOP presidential candidates Donald Trump and Ted Cruz about the party's agenda.

Only days after publicly criticizing Trump for his delay in disavowing David Duke's endorsement and the KKK, Ryan reached out to the New York real estate magnate, who is widely viewed as the candidate to beat in the fight to secure the GOP nomination.

Since then, Ryan has also held talks with Cruz, and word is he is planning similar discussions with fellow GOP candidates Marco Rubio and John Kasich.

Talks Aimed at Explaining Republican Agenda

Ryan's press secretary AshLee Strong later characterized the discussions as a chance for the speaker "to explain House Republicans' plan to present a bold conservative policy agenda this year" that the eventual nominee can readily embrace, according to NBC News.

Since succeeding Ohio Rep. John Boehner as house speaker in 2015, Mitt Romney's former 2012 running mate has maintained a vision of a unified party, putting the goal at the forefront of his agenda.

"I am going to brief all of our presidential candidates on our agenda project," Ryan recently told reporters. "The goal here is to have an election like we had in 1980, where we unite around bold ideas and we earn a mandate from the country so that we can get the country back on track."

It won't be easy, as Ryan has steadily clashed with the outspoken Trump over policies and some of the feisty rhetoric the political neophyte has frequently espoused.

Trump Mired in Controversy

Trump has been involved in numerous party controversies, particularly earning Ryan's rebuke for his proposal to ban Muslim immigrants and his interactions with Duke and the KKK.

"If a person wants to be the nominee of the Republican Party, there can be no evasion and no games," Ryan added. "They must reject any group or cause that is built on bigotry. This party does not prey on people's prejudices - we appeal to their highest ideals. This is the party of Lincoln."

Aside from trying to maintain peace and harmony within the party, Ryan has recently worked to put out a few fires of his own.

With speculation growing the GOP could be headed for a contested convention given all its internal strife, a Super PAC known as the "Committee to Draft Speaker Ryan" recently sought to collect one million signatures to "demonstrate to [Ryan] that he would have the strong backing of the American people."

Ryan quickly responded to the movement by penning a letter to the Federal Election Commission.

"The speaker has not, and does not, explicitly or implicitly, authorize, endorse, or otherwise approve of the organization's formation or activities," Ryan wrote in the letter.

Heading into Tuesday's Idaho primary on March 8, Trump leads Cruz 30 to 19 percent, with Rubio third at 16 percent and Kasich bringing up the rear at 5 percent.

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