Rep. Dave Trott shocked the room when he said the president had been unhelpful on health care, according to sources at the meeting. The second-term Republican from Michigan worried aloud that constant White House infighting was distracting from the Republican agenda — and he said he felt the president could have done more to get the bill across the finish line…
“There’s a level of conversation coming out of the White House of the likes of which nobody has ever seen before,” said Rep. Mark Sanford (R-S.C.), who seconded Trott’s comments during the closed-door GOP conference meeting. “And so, as a consequence, not only do you have the normal impediments to legislative change, but you’ve got additional impediments that are self-created within the White House that impedes the president’s ability to lead.”…
“That which is weird is getting weirder at the White House,” Sanford continued. “The new [communications director] has said things that are bizarre by any standards. And, consequently, they get covered … things that have nothing to do with improving people’s lives.”
