Trump Awards the Medal of Honor to Captain Gary Michael Rose

Two days after an uneventful and friendly conference call with the Republican House conference, Donald Trump will attend the Senate GOP’s weekly policy lunch meeting. Will the president get so amicable a greeting? Despite Trump’s on-again friendship with the majority leader, Mitch McConnell, and his new golfing buddies Lindsey Graham and Rand Paul, the Senate Republican conference remains the more challenging of the two groups for the president to work with.

One recent high point is the Senate’s budget resolution, which passed on Friday with just one Republican defection (Rand Paul). But the 51-49 margin underscores just how narrow Trump’s path to success for his next legislative agenda items. Chief among them is tax reform, legislation for which remains unwritten. Perhaps an actual bill will get any skeptical Senate Republicans on board, but a simple majority is no sure thing.

Bob Corker, who is calling Trump’s Tuesday appearance on the Hill a “photo-op,” is not a reliable “yes,” particularly since he’s announced his retirement and let loose on what he really thinks about the president. As he was with Obamacare replacement, John McCain is a bit of a mystery on tax reform. And his and Thad Cochran’s health problems mean it’s hard to guarantee their availability weeks out.

Trump needs all the votes he can get on tax reform to give him a much-needed legislative victory. But Senate Republicans need wins, too, which will be much harder to come by once the midterm elections come into focus in just a few months. As McConnell and Trump found in their meeting at the White House last week, there’s enough reason right now for both sides of Pennsylvania Avenue to grin and bear it for the sake of a win. Can everyone hold it together until Thanksgiving?

I’m With the President, Wherever He Is—There are a few other legislative items Congress may consider after or concurrent with tax reform. Among them is the question of a legislative fix to the cost-sharing reimbursements to health insurers, which the Trump administration ended earlier this month. Trump himself has been all over the map about what he wants Congress to do, or not do, with a situation that could cause a further breakdown of the insurance market.