McConnell: Republicans Are Working With Trump on 'Shared Goals'

WASHINGTON — 

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Wednesday that he and his team were in "regular contact" with President Donald Trump and were committed to working together, following weeks of tension between the two Republicans.

McConnell's statement came after media reports saying his relationship with the president had disintegrated amid repeated attacks from Trump for, among other things, failing to get a health care bill passed.

"The president and I, and our teams, have been and continue to be in regular contact about our shared goals," McConnell said in a statement that cited support for infrastructure legislation and tax reform, as well as preventing a government default, passing defense bills and implementing an effective strategy against Islamic State.

'A lot of work ahead of us'

"We have a lot of work ahead of us, and we are committed to advancing our shared agenda together and anyone who suggests otherwise is clearly not part of the conversation," McConnell said.

The New York Times said Tuesday that McConnell and Trump were locked in a political "cold war," especially after an August 9 phone call it said had devolved into a shouting match. On that day and the next, Trump assailed McConnell via Twitter, angered by a speech McConnell had given saying Trump had "excessive expectations" of Congress.

Trump has kept the pressure on Congress this week, threatening on Tuesday to shut down the government if lawmakers did not fund the building of a wall along the border with Mexico.

Trump also this week continued to attack another senator whom McConnell has defended, Republican Jeff Flake of Arizona, a longtime critic of the president over his trade and immigration policies.

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