Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Monday told President Trump that Steve Bannon's midterm insurgency was detrimental to tax reform and other key elements of the administration's agenda.
The Kentucky Republican communicated his warning during a private lunch with the president at the White House, sources tell the Washington Examiner.
McConnell emphasized that Bannon, Trump's former chief strategist, was undermining the president's agenda with plans to recruit and finance primary challenges against Republicans who are some of his most reliable supporters in the Senate. McConnell might have made some headway.
Emerging to speak to reporters after their meeting, Trump suggested that Bannon reconsider his plans to wage war against at least a few of the incumbent Republicans on his 2018 hit list.
"I like Steve a lot. Steve is doing what Steve thinks is the right thing," Trump said, of the the nationalist flamethrower now back helming Breitbart News. "Some of the people that he may be looking at, I'm going to see if we talk him out of that, because frankly they're great people."
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01.21.2025