President Donald Trump prodded congressional leaders to consider recess appointments for his top nominees and expressed interest in trading California wildfire aid for a debt limit increase in a White House meeting Tuesday — resurfacing two controversial proposals floated during the returning president’s transition.
The discussions, which were described by two people granted anonymity to describe the private talks, also touched on his proposal to exempt at least some tip income from federal taxes and his efforts more generally to extend tax cuts.
Trump described wanting to use wildfire aid as a bargaining chip in comments to reporters shortly after the meeting: “They’re going to need a lot of money, and generally speaking I think you will find that a lot of Democrats are going to be asking for help. So I think maybe that makes it more one-sided. I think we’re going to do very well.”
Meanwhile, inside the meeting, Trump emphasized the need for Republicans to stick together as a party: “The one thing the Democrats have going for them is they stick together,” one of the people familiar with the meeting said, paraphrasing Trump’s message. “No grandstanding — just stick together and deliver and we will win.”