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U.S. NEWS Saturday 29 July 2017
A wild week highlights White House, Congress divide

Continued from front Trump and the Republican
Party has been complicat-
ed from the start. Trump, a
When the president issued former Democrat, was ini-
a surprise edict-by-tweet tially viewed as a sideshow
banning transgender peo- by mainstream Republi-
ple from the military, sev- cans when he jumped in
eral high-profile GOP sena- the 2016 Republican race
tors rejected the decision. and then as an anchor
When Trump mused about that was expected to drag
firing Attorney General Jeff others in the party down.
Sessions, Republican law- After his surprise victory, the
makers quickly took Ses- party and the president
sions’ side. formed an uneasy alliance.
Trump’s flirtation with firing For most Republicans, the
Sessions produced more main factor in their rela-
blowback from Republi- tionship with Trump is the
cans than nearly any other party’s prospects in next
matter this year. South Car- year’s midterm elections. The Capitol is seen during a heavy rain in Washington, Friday, July 28, 2017. The White House
olina Sen. Lindsey Graham Trump’s job approval rat- and the Capitol sit two miles apart, but this week, they might as well have been two worlds
said there would be “holy ing is at a feeble 37 per- away.
hell” to pay if Trump took cent, according to the (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
that provocative step. Sen. most recent Gallup track-
Ben Sasse, R-Neb., said that ing poll, but still at 86 per- president. On Friday after- Washington, Trump tweet- tary John Kelly as his chief
if Trump was thinking about cent among Republican noon, just as Air Force One ed that he was naming of staff, ousting Priebus af-
using a procedural move voters. But one Republican touched back down in Homeland Security Secre- ter six months.q
to temporarily replace Ses- congressional aide said
sions without Senate confir- the party’s biggest fear
mation, he should “forget is heading into midterms
about it.” Peter Wehner, a with no significant legisla-
Trump critic who worked in tive accomplishments that
three Republican adminis- can be wielded as the
trations, said the GOP was explanation for why more
moving into “uncharted traditional lawmakers have
territory” with a president aligned themselves with a
who should be an ally, but most unconventional presi-
often isn’t. dent. The aide was not au-
“They have to embrace thorized to discuss the mat-
reality and begin to try ter publicly and insisted on
to build a fence around anonymity.
him,” Wehner said. Some Trump did little this week to
congressional Republicans ease those fears. Instead,
have privately discussed he appeared to be the
the risks of continuing to driving force behind a stun-
stand with a president ning public feud between
who sometimes appears his new communications
to have no real loyalty to director Anthony Scar-
the party. But even at the amucci and Priebus, the
end of a wild week, none embattled chief of staff.
expressed that sentiment On Thursday morning, as
publicly. House members Republican senators be-
headed out of town for gan the most crucial day
the August recess. And a in their efforts to pass a
dejected Senate Major- health care bill, Scaramuc-
ity Leader Mitch McCon- ci spent the morning on
nell simply said it was time CNN accusing Priebus of
to “move on” from health orchestrating leaks. “The
care. Again, working off a fish stinks from the head
different script, the presi- down,” Scaramucci de-
dent spent Friday touting clared in an interview he
his administration’s efforts said was authorized by the
to combat the street gang president.
MS-13, an issue that has be- Hours later, as Republican
come something of a pet leaders tried to cobble to-
project for his administra- gether votes for a scaled
tion. He largely shrugged back bill, the New Yorker
off the health care defeat. published a vulgar screed
“They should have ap- from Scaramucci aimed
proved health care last at both Priebus and Steve
night,” he said. “But you Bannon, Trump’s senior
can’t have everything.” adviser. There was no
The relationship between condemnation from the