Page 4 - ARUBA TODAY

A4 U.S. NEWS
Thursday 7 sepTember 2017
Trump overrules GOP with deal on spending, debt, Harvey aid

By ERICA WERNER Connell for the failure of press an economic argu- the window of the Oval Of- of bizarre disconnects be-
Associated Press health care legislation, the ment in favor of a longer fice showed an animated tween the president and
WASHINGTON (AP) — president wasted little time term, Trump tired of it and Schumer pointing his finger the leaders of his party.
President Donald Trump once Congress came back cut him off mid-sentence. in Trump’s face as the pres- Trump called Heitkamp
briskly overruled congres- this week in demonstrat- At another point, the meet- ident smiles with his hands to the stage at his Dakota
sional Republicans and ing his disdain for the GOP ing totally lost focus when on his fellow New Yorker’s event and praised her as
his own treasury secretary House and Senate leaders Ivanka Trump entered to arms. a “good woman.” She will
Wednesday to cut a deal charged with shepherding raise an unrelated issue After the meeting, Trump be running for re-election
with Democrats to keep his agenda into law. on child care tax cred- boarded a plane to North against a Republican in
the government operating November 2018.
and raise America’s debt Aboard Air Force One,
limit. The immediate goal Trump told reporters, “We
was ensuring money for had a very good meet-
hurricane relief, but in the ing with Nancy Pelosi and
process the president bra- Chuck Schumer.” He didn’t
zenly rolled his own party’s mention Republicans Mc-
leaders. Connell and House Speak-
In deal-making mode, er Paul Ryan, who also had
Trump sided with the Dem- been present. “We agreed
ocratic leaders — “Chuck to a three-month extension
and Nancy,” as he ami- on debt ceiling, which they
ably referred later to Sen- consider to be sacred, very
ate Minority Leader Chuck important.”“I think the deal
Schumer and House Minor- will be very good,” Trump
ity Leader Nancy Pelosi added.
— as they pushed for the Barely an hour earlier, Ryan
three-month deal, brush- had slammed the Demo-
ing aside the urgings of crats’ demand for a three-
GOP leaders and Treasury month extension as “ridicu-
Secretary Steven Mnuchin lous and disgraceful.” He
for a much longer exten- issued no public statement
sion to the debt limit. Re- on the final deal.McCon-
publicans want that longer nell, in his own reserved
allowance to avoid having President Donald Trump meets with, from left, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., fashion, did not sugar-coat
to take another vote on Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., what happened when he
the politically toxic issue and other Congressional leaders in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2017, addressed reporters a short
before the 2018 congres- in Washington. time later.“In the meeting
sional elections. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) down at the White House,
The session painted a vivid as I indicated, the president
portrait of discord at the At first, in Wednesday’s its. Details of the meeting Dakota with Democratic agreed with Sen. Schumer
highest ranks of the Re- Oval Office meeting, the were disclosed by several Sen. Heidi Heitkamp in an and Congresswoman Pe-
publican Party. After an Republicans lobbied for people briefed on the pro- effort to garner bipartisan losi to do a three-month CR
angry August that Trump an 18-month debt ceil- ceedings who spoke only support for tax legislation and a debt ceiling into De-
spent lobbing attacks at ing extension, then 12 on condition of anonymity that Republican leaders cember, and that’s what
fellow Republicans, spe- months and then six, but because they were not au- on Capitol Hill are crafting I will be offering based on
cifically targeting Senate Trump waved them off. thorized to talk publicly. on a purely partisan basis. the president’s decision,”
Majority Leader Mitch Mc- As Mnuchin continued to One photo taken through That continued the day McConnell said. q

Trump, Xi discuss North Korea as nations split on strategy

By MAT PENNINGTON reach that remote goal as is not the time to talk to leader Kim Jong Un. Both support for such tough ac-
RICHARD LARDNER fears escalate over Pyong- North Korea,” according are economic partners tion was doubtful.“President
Associated Press yang’s emerging capabil- to a White House readout, of North Korea and veto- Xi would like to do some-
WASHINGTON (AP) — ity to strike America with a released shortly before wielding permanent mem- thing,” Trump told report-
President Donald Trump nuclear-tipped missile. Trump’s call with Xi. bers of the U.N. Security ers after a 45-minute call
discussed North Korea’s China’s state news agency The conversations were Council.On Wednesday, with the Chinese leader.
strongest nuclear test yet said Xi expressed China’s part of a flurry of calls Trump the U.S. circulated a draft “We’ll see whether or not
with Chinese President Xi adamant position about has made to world lead- Security Council resolution he can do it. But we will not
Jinping on Wednesday, as “resolving the nuclear issue ers after North Korea’s test that would ban all oil and be putting up with what’s
the U.S. proposed crippling through talks.” Trump not- explosion this weekend of natural gas exports to North happening in North Korea.
new sanctions and world ed China’s “essential role” what it called a hydrogen Korea, potentially devas- I believe that President Xi
leaders tussled over wheth- and pledged more com- bomb. Trump said the U.S. tating its economy. The agrees with me 100 per-
er pressure or dialogue was munication with China “to is considering all options to measure also would freeze cent. He doesn’t want to
the best way to rein in the find a solution as early as defend itself and allies. all of the North’s and Kim’s see what’s happening
rogue nation.The White possible,” Xinhua reported. While Washington needs foreign financial assets, there, either.”
House stressed the U.S. and But Trump projected an en- backing from allies, co- and outlaw North Korean Asked if he was consider-
Chinese leaders’ joint com- tirely different message in operation with traditional textiles exports. Countries ing military action against
mitment to ridding the Ko- a phone call a day earlier adversaries China and Rus- also would be prevented North Korea, Trump told
rean Peninsula of nuclear with British Prime Minister sia is more significant. The from hiring and paying reporters: “Certainly that’s
weapons. But differences Theresa May. The Ameri- U.S. needs both to put the North Korean workers. not our first choice, but we
were clear on how best to can leader declared “now squeeze on North Korean But Beijing and Moscow’s will see what happens.”q