Acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney drew President Donald Trump’s ire during a meeting with congressional leaders over the government shutdown nearly two weeks ago after Mulvaney inserted himself into discussions and tried to negotiate a compromise sum for Trump’s highly coveted border wall, Axios reports.
The meeting, which took place on Jan. 4 in the White House Situation Room, consisted of Trump restating his demand for $5.7 in funding to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Democrats have balked at the amount. The shutdown on Sunday entered its 23rd day.
Mulvaney said, “that if Dems weren’t OK with $5.7 [billion] and the president wasn’t OK with the $1.3 [the Democratic offer] … he was trying to say we should find a middle ground,” according to a source who spoke with the news outlet.
Trump then cut him off, telling him: “You just f***ed it all up, Mick.”
Another source said Trump seemed as though he was irritated at Mulvaney’s negotiating style.
“As a negotiator, Trump was resetting,” the person said. “Mick was not reading the room or the president.”
A White House official told Axios: "This is an exaggerated account of the exchange that doesn't reflect the good relationship Mulvaney has built over the last two years with the president."
The same official said Trump and Mulvaney “joked about it afterwards.”
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