President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump speak on the phone with children at the president’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., Sunday, Dec. 24, 2017.
(Associated Press)
When he ran for the White House in 2016, Donald Trump promised to make America great again.
Late Sunday night, on what appeared to be a busy Christmas Eve at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, the president took a bow for what he views as his successful role in making Christmas merry again.
“People are proud to be saying Merry Christmas again,” the president tweeted shortly before 10 p.m. EST. “I am proud to have led the charge against the assault of our cherished and beautiful phrase. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!”
People are proud to be saying Merry Christmas again. I am proud to have led the charge against the assault of our cherished and beautiful phrase. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!
Sunday’s tweet seemed as if the president were claiming “mission accomplished” following some comments he made in October at the Family Research Council’s Values Voter Summit in Washington.
“We’re getting near that beautiful Christmas season that people don’t talk about anymore. They don’t use the word Christmas because it’s not politically correct,” the president said to cheers. “You go to department stores and they’ll say ‘Happy New Year,’ or they’ll say other things and it’ll be red, they’ll have it painted.”
Earlier Sunday, the president and first lady Melania Trump released an official photo, showing them making calls to children across the U.S. as part of the traditional NORAD tracking of Santa’s annual trip around the globe.
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump make Christmas calls to children from their home at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., Dec. 24, 2017.
(White House photo)
The president and first lady each spoke to 11 children in all. The kids ranged in age from 5 to 12.
Trump also communicated to U.S. troops who were spending the holiday overseas.
“Today and every day, we’re incredibly thankful for you and for your families,” Trump told the troops via a video hook-up at Mar-a-Lago. “Your families have been tremendous. Always underappreciated, the military families. The greatest people on Earth.”
The president was addressing members of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard stationed in Qatar, Kuwait and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and patrolling the Strait of Hormuz in the Middle East.
The president complimented each branch of the armed forces, starting with the Army’s “Iron Brigade” combat team in Kuwait, which he said is performing a “vital mission” by partnering with the Iraqi, Kuwaiti, Saudi Arabian and Jordanian armies.
He said a Kuwait-based, Marine Corps air-ground task force has provided more than 4,000 flight hours of close air support in the campaign against the Islamic State group, and he thanked sailors aboard the USS Sampson for defending “high-value assets” in the Strait of Hormuz.
President Donald Trump communicates with U.S. troops via a video hook-up at his home in Palm Beach, Fla., Dec. 24, 2017.
(Associated Press)
Trump also singled out the Air Force’s 69th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron in Qatar for engaging more than 700 IS and Taliban targets in five separate countries and winning two trophies in an Air Force bomb competition.
He showered the most praise on the Coast Guard, which impressed him with its rescue operations during a devastating hurricane season.
“You’ve done such an incredible job in Texas and Florida and Puerto Rico,” Trump said. “Many Republicans are very happy but, I have to tell you, the people of Florida, Texas, Puerto Rico and lots of other states are even more happy. What a job you’ve done … saved thousands and thousands of lives.”
In closing, Trump offered thanks to those who are spending time away from their families to “defend all of our families, our freedoms and our pride.”
“Every American heart is thankful to you and we’re asking God to watch over you and to watch over your families,” he said, before he asked journalists to leave the room so he could begin answering any service member questions.
“Every American heart is thankful to you and we’re asking God to watch over you and to watch over your families.”
– President Donald Trump, in a Christmas Eve call to U.S. troops stationed overseas
Trump began the day by tweeting against a top FBI official he has suggested is biased against him, as well as the news media. The president also spent several hours playing golf at his private club in West Palm Beach.
Later, Trump ate Christmas Eve dinner with his family before attending worship services with the first lady at the Episcopal church in Palm Beach where they were married in 2005.
Fox News’ Joseph Weber and the Associated Press contributed to this story.
The consensus of international law is that Jerusalem’s status is unresolved, that claims of sovereignty by Israel are invalid and that the issue must be settled in negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians.
Mr. Trump insisted that he was merely recognizing reality and not prejudging negotiations on the future borders of the city, but Palestinians saw the move as siding with Israel on the most delicate issue in the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
Last week, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution condemning Mr. Trump’s decision by a vote of 128 to 9, with 35 countries abstaining and 21 countries absent.
Mr. Trump had threatened to cut off aid to countries that did not take the side of the United States, but he has not yet done so, and experts say it would be difficult to do. Many Muslim-majority countries that voted for the resolution, like Pakistan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates, are strategic partners of the United States in the region.
Guatemala was one of seven countries to join the United States and Israel in voting against the resolution, along with Honduras, Togo, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau and the Federated States of Micronesia — mostly tiny countries heavily dependent on American aid.
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Guatemala was one of the first nations to recognize the state of Israel upon its establishment in 1948.
Mr. Morales’s decision was immediately seen as an effort to curry favor with Mr. Trump and, perhaps, to distract attention from his political problems at home. His brother and his son are under investigation by an anticorruption commission that has been strongly backed by the United States and the United Nations.
Mr. Morales has clashed with the commission and even tried to expel its chief in August before he was stopped by the country’s highest court.
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The commission relies on a close relationship with Guatemala’s attorney general to pursue its cases. Washington will be watching to see whether a new attorney general, to be appointed next year when the term of Attorney General Thelma Aldana expires, will prove as committed to collaborating with the commission, known by its Spanish initials as the Cicig.
Winning the favor of the Trump administration could prove helpful to Mr. Morales if the new attorney general he selects proves less cooperative with the commission.
Guatemala is also awaiting the approval of aid under an Obama administration initiative set up to stem Central American migration to the United States.
Israel claims all of Jerusalem as its capital, while the Palestinians claim East Jerusalem, which was captured by Israel in 1967 and is home to sites important to Jews, Muslims and Christians. Under multiple Security Council decisions, East Jerusalem and the West Bank are considered occupied territory.
Mr. Trump’s announcement set off weeks of clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli security forces that have left 12 Palestinians dead.
Correction: December 25, 2017
Because of an editing error, an earlier version of this article misstated Benjamin Netanyahu’s title. He is Israel’s prime minister, not president.
The man who authorities say was killed after attempting to gun down several police officers in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, “is not a terrorist,” a family member told ABC News on Saturday.
A day after Ahmed El-Mofty allegedly opened fire in what officials said was a deliberate attack on multiple police officers Friday, Ahmed Soweilam told ABC News that El-Mofty was a timid family man.
“He is a chicken,” Soweilam, who described himself as El-Mofty’s ex-brother-in-law, said. “He is not a terrorist.”
He said the 51-year-old El-Mofty was a native of Egypt and had two children with his wife, from whom he has been estranged for about six years.
El-Mofty shot at police from at three locations in Pennsylvania’s capital before responding police officers shot and killed him, Dauphin County prosecutors said.
One officer was injured in the shootings, but her injuries are considered non-life-threatening and she was reportedly “doing well,” Dauphin County District Attorney Ed Marsico said.
Marisco also told ABC News that his office is trying to determine whether El-Mofty’s attacks on law enforcement officers were motivated by terrorism.
The Associated PressHarrisburg Police block off sections of the street after a shooting, Friday, Dec. 22, 2017. A prosecutor says there’s “no doubt” a gunman who fired at police in several locations in the capital city before they shot and killed him was targeting polic
While local authorities continue to stress they are still investigating if it was terrorism, Department of Homeland Security Acting Press Secretary Tyler Houlton issued a statement on Twitter Saturday evening referring to the shooting as “a terror attack.” The statement was issued as part of the Trump administration’s ongoing criticism of chain migration, which allows family members to sponsor relatives for immigration.
“The Department of Homeland Security can confirm the suspect involved in a terror attack in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and another suspect arrested on terror-related money laundering charges were both beneficiaries of extended chain migration.”
Houlton’s second reference is to a woman on Long Island who was charged with using bitcoin to support ISIS activities.
Soweilam said El-Mofty visited the Middle East, but stressed he was a gentle man.
Dauphin County prosecutors, Marisco said, are looking closely at an October trip to the Middle East that El-Mofty took, and want to know where he was living, which houses of worship he possibly attended, and whether he was employed when he allegedly attempted to attack the cops.
The FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) are also involved in the investigation, the prosecutor confirmed.
The first shooting took place at about 4:10 p.m. when El-Mofty allegedly opened fire on a Capitol Police officer in his cruiser, striking the vehicle several times, but missing the officer. The shooting took place just steps from the Pennsylvania state Capitol Building. About a half hour later, the same man is suspected to have fired at a female officer who was struck once.
Capitol Police pursued the suspect to a residential area, who then allegedly opened fire on them with two handguns, Marsico said. The officers fired back, striking and killing the suspect. None of the officers was struck.
Marsico said there was “no doubt” the man was targeting police officers.
Dauphin County District Attorneys OfficeAhmed Aminamin El-Mofty, 51, allegedly shot at police officers in Harrisburg, Pa., three times before being killed on Dec. 22, 2017.
“We are asking the public if they have any information about Mr. El-Mofty to please call 911 and let us know, anyone that has any information about him,” Marsico said at a Friday night press conference.
“This could’ve been a really tragic incident with this individual firing many shots at police cars in downtown Harrisburg in the midst of rush hour traffic on Friday afternoon, and then coming up here in a residential neighborhood and firing again many shots.”
When asked about specific ties to terrorism, Marsico said an investigation would reveal that information and cautioned, “We don’t want people to run wild with speculation.”
“At first it sounded like firecrackers,” eyewitness Michael Burton told Harrisburg ABC affiliate WHTM. “Then I heard like a barrage of shots and I assume that’s when officers shot back.”
“We got to the alley up there and the cop was there, he had his long rifle out. He said, ‘Get back.’ Then the cop came down, put the tape across.”
“You shoot at the cops, you get what you get,” Burton said.
He dealt with the F.B.I. investigation into whether Hillary Clinton mishandled classified information when she used a private email server. Republicans, including Mr. Trump, have relentlessly criticized the F.B.I. for the way it handled that investigation. Mrs. Clinton was not charged, nor were any of her aides. Mr. McCabe has also been deeply involved in the F.B.I.’s investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election and the potential involvement of the Trump campaign.
The Russia investigation is being led by a special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, who has already charged four people associated with Mr. Trump’s presidential campaign. One of them, a foreign policy adviser, has pleaded guilty to lying about his contacts with the Russians, while another pleaded guilty to lying about his conversation with the Russian ambassador to the United States.
Mr. Mueller’s inquiry has infuriated the president, who has called the investigation a witch hunt and has pressed repeatedly for a shake-up at the F.B.I. Mr. McCabe was deputy director when the F.B.I. opened the investigation in July 2016.
The president crowed on Saturday that James A. Baker, the F.B.I. general counsel, who was seen as an ally of Mr. Comey’s, would soon step down from that post, although he will remain at the bureau.
Wow, “FBI lawyer James Baker reassigned,” according to @FoxNews.
Mr. McCabe became a political piñata after his wife decided to run as a Democrat for a Virginia State Senate seat. As part of her campaign, she accepted nearly $500,000 in contributions from the political organization of Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a longtime friend of Mrs. Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton.
Pressure on Mr. McCabe and Mr. Wray intensified this month after The New York Times reported that a top F.B.I. lawyer and counterintelligence agent traded disparaging text messages about the president. Both the agency and the lawyer had worked closely on the Clinton and Russia investigations. However, Mr. Mueller decided to pull the agent off the Russia investigation. The lawyer, who was close to Mr. McCabe, had already left Mr. Mueller’s team by the time the texts were discovered.
Republicans seized on the texts to claim that the F.B.I.’s leadership was politically slanted. Agents have rejected that assertion, calling it insulting and untrue.
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Mr. McCabe, who is seen as highly intelligent, rose quickly through the ranks of the F.B.I., eventually running national security, then the bureau’s second-largest field office, before moving back to headquarters, where he was put on track to be deputy director. He has many supporters in the F.B.I. who consider him beyond reproach.
His defenders say he has done his job admirably in the face of intense partisan attacks while navigating crisis after crisis.
“The political hit job on McCabe — his supposed ideological bias, the fact his wife ran for office as a Democrat, the attacks on his competence — are way out of line,” said Frank Montoya Jr., a former senior F.B.I. official who retired in 2016 and worked closely with Mr. McCabe. “The people who are making these baseless accusations don’t know McCabe. I do. The guy’s a total pro. His only motivation is to support and defend the Constitution.”
His detractors see Mr. McCabe as an ambitious creature of Washington who did not spend enough time as an agent working with informants and making cases. Those critical of Mr. McCabe believe he lacked the operational experience to become director and needed to spend more time in the field.
But even among some of those who dislike Mr. McCabe, he earned their grudging respect when he stood up to Mr. Trump and defended the F.B.I. and Mr. Comey’s tenure during a heated congressional hearing in May while he was acting director.
Mr. McCabe’s plan to retire at some point after he was eligible to retire was first reported by The Washington Post. Mr. McCabe will most likely follow the path of other highly qualified F.B.I. senior officials eligible to retire who leave after securing a lucrative job in the private sector.
Officials say that Mr. Wray is considering David L. Bowdich, currently the third-ranking official in the bureau, to replace Mr. McCabe. Mr. Bowdich ran the F.B.I.’s Los Angeles field office before coming to Washington. He is best known for being the public face of the F.B.I. in California after the 2015 San Bernardino terrorist attack.
WASHINGTON —The Trump administration has approved a plan to provide lethal weapons to Ukraine, U.S. officials said Friday, aiming to fortify the former Soviet republic military as it fights separatists backed by Russia.
The new arms include American-made Javelin anti-tank missiles that Ukraine has long sought to boost its defenses against tanks that have rolled through eastern Ukraine during violence that has killed more than 10,000 since 2014. Previously, the U.S. has provided Ukraine with support equipment and training, and has let private companies sell some small arms like rifles.
The officials describing the plan weren’t authorized to discuss it publicly and demanded anonymity.
The move is likely to escalate tensions between the United States and Russia, as President Donald Trump contends with ongoing questions about whether he’s too hesitant to confront the Kremlin. Ukraine accuses Russia of sending the tanks, and the U.S. says Moscow is arming, training and fighting alongside the separatists.
Trump had been considering the plan for some time after the State Department and the Pentagon signed off earlier this year. President Barack Obama also considered sending lethal weapons to Ukraine.
The State Department, responsible for overseeing foreign military sales, would not confirm that anti-tank missiles or other lethal weapons would be sent. But in a statement late Friday, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the U.S. had decided to provide “enhanced defensive capabilities” to help Ukraine build its military long-term, defend its sovereignty and “deter further aggression.”
“U.S. assistance is entirely defensive in nature, and as we have always said, Ukraine is a sovereign country and has a right to defend itself,” Nauert said.
The White House’s National Security Council declined to comment.
Although the portable Javelin anti-tank missiles can kill, proponents for granting them to Ukraine have long argued they are considered “defensive” because the Ukrainians would use them to defend their territory and deter the Russians, not to attack a foreign country or seize new territory.
Under law, the State Department must tell Congress of planned foreign military sales, triggering a review period in which lawmakers can act to stop the sale. It was unclear whether the administration had formally notified Congress, but lawmakers are unlikely to try to block it given that Democrats and Republicans alike have long called on the government to take the step.
The Senate spent more than $1.45 million settling workplace harassment and discrimination cases over the past 20 years, according to data released by the Senate Rules Committee on Thursday.
The Office of Compliance (OOC) paid nearly $600,000 in claims stemming from senators’ offices across a total of 13 settlements, according to the data.
They also paid more than an additional $853,000 as part of 10 settlements in response to claims from other Senate-employing offices, according to the data.
Senators have been under pressure to release the information on sexual and workplace harassment claims after the House Office of Compliance began disclosing information on settlements.
Sen. Richard ShelbyRichard Craig ShelbyObstruction of justice watch: Trump attacks the FBI The Hill’s 12:30 Report Alabama businesses fear Moore victory would hurt state economy: report MORE (R-Ala.) said they had received assurances from Senate Legal Counsel that the release of the data didn’t violate the confidentiality of those involved in the settlements.
“While the Rules Committee has been eager to provide this information in a transparent manner, it has been our priority to protect the victims involved in these settlements from further harm,” he said.
Sen. Thad CochranWilliam (Thad) Thad CochranObstruction of justice watch: Trump attacks the FBI America isn’t ready to let Sessions off his leash The Hill’s Whip List: Where Republicans stand on Senate tax bill MORE (R-Miss.), the chairman of the Appropriations Committee, added “harassment of any kind is unacceptable. The Senate should hold itself to the highest standards of professionalism and respect.”Capitol Hill has been rocked by a recent string of sexual harassment and misconduct claims leading to several members, including Sen. Al FrankenAlan (Al) Stuart FrankenDemocrats turn on Al Franken Schumer called, met with Franken and told him to resign Overnight Finance: Trump says shutdown ‘could happen’ | Ryan, conservatives inch closer to spending deal | Senate approves motion to go to tax conference | Ryan promises ‘entitlement reform’ in 2018 MORE (D-Minn.) and Reps. John ConyersJohn James ConyersAbortion-rights group endorses Nadler in race to replace Conyers on Judiciary Democrats turn on Al Franken Michigan state senator to run for Congress MORE Jr. (D-Mich.) and Trent FranksHarold (Trent) Trent FranksHouse forges ahead with Dec. 22 spending bill Conservatives fear end-of-year ‘Christmas tree’ spending bill Adoption tax credit restored after conservative backlash MORE (R-Ariz.), resigning or announcing they would step down.The Senate’s Office of Compliance previously rejected Sen. Tim KaineTimothy Michael KaineDemocrats turn on Al Franken Avalanche of Democratic senators say Franken should resign Senate panel moves forward with bill to roll back Dodd-Frank MORE’s (D-Va.) request for information about sexual harassment settlements in Congress, citing the Congressional Accountability Act’s confidentiality rules.
Kaine submitted his request on the day that Franken announced his resignation from the Senate after multiple women alleged that Franken had groped or forcibly kissed them in the past.
In a letter to Kaine earlier this week, the OOC noted that it traditionally hasn’t “separated allegations of sexual harassment from those involving sex-based disparate treatment or pregnancy discrimination.”
“In fact, for many years, the office simply classified all claims alleging discrimination of any kind as civil rights cases without any further differentiation,” wrote Susan Tsui Grundmann, the executive director of the OOC.
Kaine commended the move to release the data on Thursday night, calling it a “first step.”
“I appreciate that the Senate Rules Committee did the right thing today by heeding calls to release this data. This is the first step toward a more transparent reporting system for harassment in Congress to hold people accountable for their actions,” he said.
A few weeks before Alabama’s special Senate election, President Donald Trump’s handpicked Republican National Committee leader, Ronna Romney McDaniel, delivered a two-page memo to White House chief of staff John Kelly outlining the party’s collapse with female voters.
The warning, several people close to the chairwoman said, reflected deepening anxiety that a full-throated Trump endorsement of accused child molester Roy Moore in the special election — which the president was edging closer to at the time — would further damage the party’s standing with women. McDaniel’s memo, which detailed the president’s poor approval numbers among women nationally and in several states, would go unheeded, as Trump eventually went all-in for the ultimately unsuccessful Republican candidate.
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The backstage talks provide a window into how those closest to Trump are bracing for a possible bloodbath in the 2018 midterms, which could obliterate the Republican congressional majorities and paralyze the president’s legislative agenda. The potential for a Democratic wave has grown after Republican losses this fall in Virginia, New Jersey and Alabama, and as the president’s approval ratings have plummeted to the 30s.
In recent weeks, some of the president’s advisers have taken it upon themselves to warn him directly about the fast-deteriorating political environment. White House officials have convened to discuss ways to improve his standing with suburban voters. And on Wednesday, the president met with Kelly, political director Bill Stepien, communications director Hope Hicks, former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski and Brad Parscale, Trump’s digital director in the 2016 campaign, to discuss the political landscape. Lewandowski forcefully raised concerns about the party’s efforts, according to one attendee and another person briefed on the meeting.
In an interview this week, Stepien acknowledged the pattern of presidents losing seats in Congress in their first midterm election. But he argued that it’s far too early to write off the GOP in 2018.
Stepien pointed to positive economic numbers that could buoy the party, along with a favorable Senate map and an RNC field deployment program that has been ramping up for months. Trump is also set to sign major tax cut legislation that Republicans are betting voters will reward them for, despite its unpopularity in polls before passage.
The White House political chief also noted that polling during the presidential election failed to pick up on Trump’s support. It was a pattern, he argued, that could be repeating itself.
“History tells us it will be challenging. How challenging, time will tell,” Stepien said. “But we have a strong sense of optimism.”
Among GOP leaders, however, there is widespread concern heading into 2018. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has said privately that both chambers could be lost in November. House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) has told donors that he fears a wave of swing district Republican lawmakers could retire rather than seek reelection.
During a conference meeting last week, House Republicans listened as the past five chairmen of the party’s campaign arm addressed the political environment. One endangered lawmaker said his main takeaway was that incumbents should spend little time worrying about Trump or the White House and focus only on controlling what they can. Another person who was present came away with the impression that if lawmakers didn’t shore up their political standing now, they shouldn’t expect the national party to be able to save them down the road.
“In a year like this, you better not take anything for granted,” said Pennsylvania Rep. Charlie Dent, a moderate Republican who is retiring. “I think most members know this is going to be a really tough challenge this cycle.”
Trump is well aware of the dangers his party faces in 2018, those who’ve discussed it with him say. During political briefing sessions, top aides highlight positive developments — but also more concerning ones, such as his declining numbers among well-educated voters and higher earners. He has peppered advisers with questions about his approval ratings, and about whether he is getting enough credit for his accomplishments.
Trump has also questioned friends and advisers about how particular races are developing, sometimes in granular detail. He has recently asked, for example, about who will be running for the seat former Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.) recently resigned from.
The president, however, has shrugged off some early setbacks. After the Alabama loss, he gathered with Vice President Mike Pence, Kelly, Stepien and deputy chief of staff Rick Dearborn. The group dived into the results, talking through why the race played out as it did.
As they raft a 2018 campaign plan, White House officials are cognizant that the president isn’t popular in some parts of the country. Trump is most likely to hit the trail in conservative states like Missouri or Montana with an eye toward mobilizing his core supporters. Discussions are underway, for example, about sending Trump and Pence to campaign in a southwestern Pennsylvania congressional district that the president won by nearly 20 percentage points that’s holding a special election in March.
Trump aides expect his campaign schedule to more fully take shape in late spring or early summer, as legislative business takes a back seat to an intensifying midterm season.
“If the president is going to be campaigning, he needs to be very discreet and selective about where he goes,” said Dent.
While the president’s numbers are cratering in some swing states, he’s expected to take on an expanded role on the fundraising circuit in 2018, which Republicans hope will allow them to swamp Democrats in campaign spending. The president has proven to be a major draw for donors, raising around $30 million for the RNC this year. There are talks about possibly holding an event next month in South Florida, where Trump is expected to spend part of winter.
The president often seems most at ease hobnobbing with friends at fundraisers. During a recent event in New York City, Trump cracked that the tax bill was so good he might go back into business, recalled one person who attended. He also joked that while many of his contributors had expected ambassadorships in return for their largess, another one, North Carolina businessman Louis DeJoy, just wanted to be his friend.
Behind the scenes, though, the White House has been racing to find solutions to the electoral challenge. Following the Virginia gubernatorial race, the administration commissioned an after-action report to examine why the party under-performed among suburban voters.
And at a staff meeting following the Virginia loss, aides discussed a range of issues important to those voters. Among the ideas suggested: underscoring the administration’s efforts to curb the opioid crisis and to assist veterans, perhaps by increasing the visibility of Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin.
For much of the year, Capitol Hill Republicans worried about whether Trump’s team fully recognized the political realities they faced in 2018 and vented that the administration wasn’t always responsive to their concerns.
In some corners of the Republican world, there is anxiety about the White House political operation and its readiness for next year’s races. During Wednesday’s meeting, Lewandowski laced into the RNC, saying that it had raised a fraction of the money it should have, according to an attendee and another person briefed.
Afterwards, Lewandowski and Stepien had a heated exchange outside the Oval Office that stretched for around 10 minutes. The incident was first reported by the Washington Post and the New York Times.
With the election year approaching, the White House is considering beefing up its political team. Among the possibilities under discussion, one Trump aide said, is elevating staffers with political backgrounds into the administration’s political shop.
Yet as a challenging 2018 grows ever closer, many senior Republicans say they’ve seen greater coordination with the White House political department. The administration and Senate Republicans have embarked on a joint effort to recruit North Dakota Rep. Kevin Cramer into the state’s U.S. Senate race. Trump has personally spoken to Cramer, and last week the congressman met with McConnell and National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Cory Gardner (R-Colo.).
Earlier this month, Cramer and his wife, Kris, met with the NRSC’s executive director, Chris Hansen, who made the case to the couple that Cramer had performed well in polling the committee had conducted.
The White House and McConnell’s team have also been in talks about wooing former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty into next year’s special election for the seat being vacated by Democratic Sen. Al Franken.
On Wednesday, Stepien met with top aides from the RNC and House and Senate GOP campaign arms.
Some senior Republicans believe the departure of former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon, an avowed McConnell critic who is closely aligned with the conservative insurgency, has eased tensions with the administration.
“I think there have been incredible signs of progress in recent weeks,” said Josh Holmes, a former McConnell chief of staff and top political lieutenant, adding that “almost everything seems to be headed in a much more productive direction.”
But some Republicans are still sounding the alarm. Scott Jennings, a former top political adviser in the George W. Bush White House who is close to McConnell, said the president has major political challenges in the coming year: improving his approval numbers, ensuring the party nominates strong general election candidates, and selling his economic accomplishments.
“There are 10 months to improve the fundamentals here, and the Senate map is, on paper, good. But maps don’t make majorities and I think there’s a realization that there’s at least a 50 percent chance one or both chambers could fall,” Jennings said. “In less than one year, this first term could be, for all intents and purposes, over if the Democrats take control of either chamber.”
