To Allies’ Chagrin, Trump Swerves Left<br />WASHINGTON — Republican congressional leaders perched on the couches in the Oval Office froze in mid-smile on Wednesday afternoon when<br />they realized President Trump was bypassing them to cut a short-term spending and debt ceiling deal with Democrats, and not them.<br />“If we can get something to happen, we are going to sign it,<br />and we’re going to make a lot of happy people,” Mr. Trump told reporters en route to Bismarck, N. D.<br />The Oval Office meeting produced a moment that legislators and staff members described as instantly iconic, and not in a good way.<br />Asked during an appearance on Wednesday morning with congressional leaders if he<br />had any second thoughts on his decision, Mr. Trump said, “No second thoughts.”<br />But administration officials said the move greatly undercut the position of another key cabinet official, Attorney<br />General Jeff Sessions, a longtime proponent of tougher enforcement of immigration laws, who announced the move.<br />Instead, Mr. Trump — who has often outsourced the details of negotiations to subordinates like Vice President Mike Pence — interrupted<br />Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin as he argued for an 18-month debt ceiling increase to stabilize financial markets.
