GOP seeks to shift focus from Trump to security

WASHINGTON — House Republicans laid out a national security agenda that seeks to turn the conversation away from Donald Trump’s contentious presidential campaign and toward concrete policies for securing America’s borders and defeating extremist groups.

The billionaire candidate also has pledged, if elected, to bring back the use of waterboarding — it causes the sensation of drowning — and worse against captured militants.

The national security agenda is a key item in a broader policy blueprint House Speaker Paul Ryan is crafting that seeks to unite Republicans amid the frequent distractions triggered by Trump’s unconventional presidential campaign.