![]() On Thursday, Trump and Sasse, a member of the Judiciary committee, spoke by phone to discuss the Supreme Court vacancy and trade.īut at a time when Trump has moved aggressively to consolidate the Republican Party behind him - and get rid of his enemies - some of the president’s staunchest backers are eager for him to take a hard line against the first-term senator. ![]() The Trump aide has brokered meetings between the two in the hopes they’ll get to know each other better, while encouraging Sasse to give Trump a heads-up before he’s about to publicly criticize him. One of Sasse’s friends, White House Legislative Affairs Director Marc Short, has worked to smooth things over with the president. Lighthizer declined to comment for this story, as did the White House. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer - an advocate of protectionism whose nomination the senator opposed - in private conversations with the president, according to a senior administration official. ![]() The president’s frustration with Sasse has been fanned by U.S. In April, Trump sparred with Sasse during a meeting at the White House with lawmakers from farm states over the president’s decision to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership. More recently, the president has complained to aides that he views Sasse as dead-set against his America first trade agenda. After the 2016 campaign - in which Sasse refused to vote for Trump and compared the New York City mogul with white supremacist David Duke - Trump had a conversation with a GOP senator in which he referred to Sasse as “that guy” and said he’d like to see the Nebraska Republican “go away.” How Sasse responds - he has a book coming out three weeks before the midterm elections and has quietly launched a new political non-profit group, fueling speculation that he might launch a Hail Mary bid for president rather than seek another term in the Senate - promises to be the next intra-GOP drama.īehind the scenes, the president has stewed over Sasse’s recurring jabs, according to several people familiar with his thinking on the matter. ![]() As the “never Trump” faction of the Republican Party dwindles to a lonely few, the Nebraska senator has shown little interest in backing down – leaving him vulnerable to a Trump-fueled primary challenge in 2020, when he’s up for reelection. ![]()
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