Politics

GOP Reps Lash Out At Mnuchin After Meeting

REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

Alex Pfeiffer White House Correspondent
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Republican congressmen went on the record attacking Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin after he attempted to convince them to support a short-term debt ceiling extension backed by Democrats.

Mnuchin and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Mick Mulvaney met with House Republicans to urge them to support a Senate bill to raise the debt limit by three months and provide $15.2 billion in Hurricane Harvey relief funds. This plan goes against the wishes of several Republicans who wanted to extend the debt ceiling by 18 months and include spending cuts. (RELATED: House Passes Senate $15.2 Billion Harvey Relief, Debt Ceiling Bill)

“His performance was incredibly poor, and his last words, and I quote, were ‘vote for the debt ceiling for me,'” Republican North Carolina Rep. Mark Walker said, according to The Hill. Another Republican, Rep. Ryan Costello of Pennsylvania, said that Mnuchin’s performance was “about as well received as his wife’s Instagram post.”

The comment was in reference to a post from Louise Linton, Mnuchin’s wife, in which she flaunted her designer clothing and dressed down an Oregon woman who didn’t like the post.

Another Republican congressman, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told The Hill, “It was a very arrogant lecture that turned off more of the conference. I’m less sold than when I walked into the meeting.”

Ninety Republicans voted against the bill in the end. However, it still passed. Shortly thereafter, White House spokesman Sarah Sanders said at a press briefing that President Trump isn’t focused on making Congress happy.