Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin on Thursday said the White House is “very comfortable” with a deal President Donald Trump made siding with Democrats over the unanimous opposition of Republicans.
“The President’s priority was to make sure that we had funding for Harvey and to make sure we raised the debt limit to pay for that, and we’ve accomplished that,” Mnuchin said on Fox Business’ “Mornings with Maria.”
Trump on Wednesday left Republicans shell-shocked after he backed a proposal by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to tie aid for Hurricane Harvey relief to a three-month increase in the federal debt limit and a short-term government funding bill.
Mnuchin reportedly opposed the short term deal to no avail; according to Politico, Trump cut his treasury secretary’s counter-argument off in mid-sentence.
Mnuchin on Thursday said a longer one-year deal was “on the table” but that it would not have squared with Trump’s priorities.
“We’ve very happy that we have a deal,” he said. “We’re comfortable.”
Mnuchin said the deal “clears out the next 90 days for us to focus on important things.”
He called the deal, which Democrats hailed as a negotiating victory, a “major accomplishment” and “a big step in the right direction.”
What it ultimately came down to, as Mnuchin explained, was, “The President wanted to have a deal.”
