Trump Takes Issue with McConnell’s Accusation That He had ‘Excessive Expectations’ for Congress

(The Washington Post) —
President Donald Trump with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky. during a meeting in the White House in June. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

President Donald Trump on Wednesday took a shot at Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), pointedly asking on Twitter why congressional Republicans had failed after seven years of promises to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.

Mr. Trump’s tweet came two days after McConnell vented at a Rotary Club meeting in Kentucky that Trump’s lack of political experience had created “excessive expectations” for passing major legislation.

“Senator Mitch McConnell said I had ‘excessive expectations,’ but I don’t think so. After 7 years of hearing Repeal & Replace, why not done?”

– Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 9, 2017

The back-and-forth was the latest sign of strained relations between Trump and Republicans in Congress, who have chalked up few victories since January, despite the GOP’s control of the White House and both the House and Senate.

In an earlier tweet on Wednesday, Dan Scavino Jr., the White House social media director, also took aim at McConnell.

“More excuses,” wrote Scavino, an outspoken Trump loyalist. “@SenateMajLdr must have needed another 4 years – in addition to the 7 years – to repeal and replace Obamacare…..”

In his remarks on Monday to the Rotary Club of Florence, Kentucky, McConnell said “our new president had of course not been in this line of work before,” adding: “And I think had excessive expectations about how quickly things happen in the democratic process.”

McConnell said people think Congress is underperforming partly because “artificial deadlines, unrelated to the reality of the complexity of legislating, may not have been fully understood.”

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