Trump suggests Senate GOP leader must deliver or step aside

President Donald Trump escalated a stunning feud against his top Senate partner Thursday, suggesting Majority Leader Mitch McConnell might have to think about stepping aside if he doesn’t deliver on the president’s agenda of health care, taxes and infrastructure.

Trump called McConnell’s failure to pass an “Obamacare’’ repeal last month “a disgrace.’’ Asked if McConnell should consider stepping aside or retiring, an outcome some conservatives are openly clamouring for, the president’s response was far from a vote of confidence.

“Well I tell you what, if he doesn’t get repeal and replace done and if he doesn’t get taxes done, meaning cuts and reform, and if he doesn’t get a very easy one to get done, infrastructure, if he doesn’t get them done, then you can ask me that question,’’ the president told reporters in Bedminster, New Jersery, where he is in the midst of a 17-day golf vacation.

There was no immediate response from McConnell’s office.

A sitting president openly turning on a Senate majority leader of his own party in such a fashion is practically unheard of — yet another norm destroyed since Trump’s rise on the political scene. And while the fighting words might elate Trump’s core supporters, they can only hurt broader Republican efforts to move major legislation this fall on taxes and spending while preparing for congressional elections next year where energized Democrats are rallying to retake the House. Republicans control both chambers, but the Trump factor in many races remains a mystery.