RNC ad hits Pelosi, Schumer day after Trump cut deal with them
A new Republican National Committee ad for President Trump assails Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi as "career politicians" who are "trying to stop him," a day after Mr. Trump snubbed his own party to cut a deal with those same Democrats on the debt ceiling.
The ad, "Finish the Job," released Thursday, shows "career politicians" including Schumer and Pelosi, saying Democratic leaders and the media are trying to stop the president. "But President Trump is fighting for America," the ad says, touting jobs numbers, a crackdown on MS-13 and other administration priorities. Yet only a day earlier, Mr. Trump undercut Republicans, who wanted an 18-month debt limit hike, making a deal instead with Schumer and Pelosi to extend the debt limit for three months.
The president's move was a spontaneous deal that dumbfounded GOP leadership and even White House staff, CBS News' Major Garrett reports, based on several conversations inside and outside the White House. The president has lost confidence in House Speaker Paul Ryan and in Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to make legislative progress, wants to pursue tax reform this fall, and wants to look like he's managing well, Garrett reports.
The president's rift with Republican leadership puts the GOP in an awkward position, as 2018 midterm elections approach and vulnerable Republicans try to defend their seats from Democrats.
But the president, in a way, has also started his own reelection campaign. Mr. Trump, who filed paperwork for the 2020 election the day of his inauguration, has held several campaign-style rallies since taking office.
In the short term, congressional Republicans have a busy agenda. Although the president and Democrats reached an agreement, lawmakers must still vote to raise the debt ceiling, debate tax reform, and consider ways to stabilize health care markets, if no major health care reform passes before the end of the year.
