Trump appears pleased to move on. The president told Senate Republicans, in a meeting in the White House’s State Dining Room on Tuesday about Turkey policy, that he was happy Fox News and other conservative media had largely held their fire on the budget deal, according to two attendees. Mnuchin sat nearby as the president assessed the relatively muted friendly fire. “He was pleased it wasn’t worse. That point was made several times,” said one attendee.

Mnuchin is viewed throughout Washington as more matter-of-fact than ideological — a fact that has annoyed some die-hard members of the Republican Party. Like Trump, he is more interested in solving a problem than adhering to strict conservative principles.

“The president asked Mnuchin to negotiate a deal. And Mnuchin went to Pelosi saying, ‘How much is it going to cost me to get a debt limit increase past the election?’’’ one former senior administration official said sarcastically. “He doesn’t care about the cost. Wall Street is happy. The defense folks are happy. That’s good enough.”