Hoping to clear the way for tax reform?

 

The meeting came a day after Trump met separately with Republican congressional leaders and listened as they sought to deliver a reality check on tax reform.

Tax reform was unlikely to glide through Congress and hit the President's desk before Thanksgiving, as Trump has hoped would be the case, the GOP leaders told him Tuesday. Leadership needed time to build consensus among Republicans and, most importantly, the legislative calendar in September was packed with a need for action that superseded tax reform, according to two sources familiar with Tuesday's meeting.

White House officials had warned the congressional leaders that Trump might be upset by the lengthier timeline. Instead -- to their surprise -- Trump was "understanding" and "pragmatic," two sources briefed on the meeting said.

Less than 24 hours later, Trump agreed to the Democrats' deal -- clearing the September calendar Trump had been warned about.

It wasn't clear if Republican leaders' warnings unwittingly encouraged the President to cut a deal with Democrats, but a senior White House official said Trump went into Wednesday's meeting eager to cut a deal that would clear the way for tax reform.

Following the meeting, Trump and his team left for his speech in North Dakota on tax reform, now an issue that at least one aide said was made more difficult by Trump's move.

"Now nothing will get done between now and Dec. 15," one Republican aide told CNN in an email. "You think people will vote for a budget now?"

Other congressional Republican sources argued this wasn't just the President undermining GOP leaders politically, but ultimately on policy. In mid-December, with winter holidays around the corner, Democrats will have another chance to use must-pass legislation as leverage for other priorities. A senior Democratic source conceded to CNN that Republicans are right, which is why Democratic leaders united before the White House meeting on demanding only a three-month extension for the debt ceiling along with hurricane funding.

Sen. Ben Sasse, a Nebraska Republican and consistent Trump critic, issued a one line statement: "The Pelosi-Schumer-Trump deal is bad."

McConnell said later that he will support the deal agreed to by Trump, but he made very clear following the Republican policy lunch that this was an agreement between Trump and Democratic leaders. He wouldn't say if he was surprised by the deal, but said Trump's "rationale" was the "feeling that we need to come together."