House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows said that President Donald Trump was forced to strike a deal with Democrats in order to secure a relief package for the victims of Hurricane Harvey.
“Because of the hurricane relief there wasn’t a whole lot of options,” Meadows said Friday on “Morning Joe.” “When you look at this you either had an 18-month clean debt limit, or you have what was agreed to. A three-month debt limit. So when given two bad options obviously you can’t be too critical of anybody.”
Meadows said the grassroots of the GOP were “confused” by the deal and are concerned this could develop into a pattern of Trump cutting deals with the Democrats.
“Our grassroots are very confused. They’re saying, well is this the president going to cut deals with Democrats from here on out? And I would suggest that that’s not the case. And that’s based on talking not only to the President but also talking to Speaker Ryan and others,” he said.
When asked where he stood on a leadership change in Congress, Meadows said there was no focus on electing new congressional leaders, and instead urged legislators to pass Trump’s agenda.
“I can tell you I’ve had conversations with Steve Bannon, Reince Priebus both within the last 48 hours or so. And I can tell you that we’re laser focused not on a leadership change, but making sure that we change Washington, D.C.,” Meadows said.
“It’s all about making sure that we change it on behalf of the American people. A lot of the focus is on leadership. Really where the focus needs to be is on doing what we said we would do, and that’s delivering on the Trump agenda to make sure that we give Washington, D.C. back to its rightful owner. And that’s what we’re committed to do,” Meadows said.
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