Senate

Senate meeting didn’t focus on Trump-Corker feud, lawmakers say

by Jordain Carney - 10/24/17 3:21 PM ET

A growing feud between President Trump and Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) didn’t come up during a closed-door lunch on Tuesday, GOP senators said as they left the meeting, despite the feuding dominating talk surrounding Trump’s trip to Capitol Hill.

The Senate Republican caucus met for more than an hour with Trump during their weekly policy meeting as they try to get on the same page on passing a tax plan, their biggest agenda item for the rest of the year.

Corker said after the meeting that he didn’t speak with Trump, and that Trump didn’t reference his criticisms.

{mosads}

“I was not a part of the lunch discussion. I ate my lunch like I normally do at policy,” Corker said. “I normally don’t speak much at policy.”

Asked if the lunch changed his mind about Trump, Corker said, “no.”

“If there’s anything that unifies Republicans it’s tax reform,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told reporters after the meeting. “There’s a lot of noise out there.”

Trump waved to the media as he left the meeting, but didn’t speak with dozens of reporters gathered near the meeting room.

McConnell outlined three main topics that Trump focused on during the meeting: Tax reform, his nominations and a forthcoming announcement on the opioid epidemic.

But the meeting came after Trump and Corker, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, spent hours feuding through TV and Twitter on Tuesday morning.

Trump lashed out at Corker, saying he refused to endorse the GOP senator who is retiring after 2018. Corker fired back, signaling he regretted supporting Trump in the 2016 election and thought the president wasn’t a role model for children.

Senators downplayed the feud as they headed into the lunch, and said as they exited that the verbal slugfest didn’t come up during the closed-door meeting.

“Of course not,” Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) told reporters when asked if the “feud” came up.

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) added that the president didn’t mention Corker while he was speaking to senators, while Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) added the meeting was “really upbeat, it was very positive.”

Trump’s meeting was the first time he’s come to Capitol Hill to meet with GOP senators since taking over the White House, and it comes as Republicans — despite having the first unified government in a decade — are struggling to score major political and legislative wins.

McConnell dodged multiple questions about Trump’s feud with Corker and other top senators after the meeting, arguing they are “distractions” that garner the media’s attention.

“Look I don’t have any observation about that,” he said when asked about Corker’s comments. “We’re going to concentrate on what our agenda is and not any of these other distractions that you all may be interested in.”

Asked if he had an “obligation” to intervene given Trump’s feuds with prominent caucus members, he fired back: “What I have an obligation to do is try to achieve the greatest cohesion I can.”

Tags Bob Corker John Kennedy John Thune Mitch McConnell Orrin Hatch