WASHINGTON _ President Donald Trump on Thursday criticized Speaker Paul D. Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, saying they created a debt ceiling "mess" by refusing his advice.
After the White House and McConnell's office on Wednesday denied a recent New York Times report about tensions _ including a profanity-filled phone call _ between the two, the president started Thursday by attacking the Senate leader.
The Twitter strike also came a day after Ryan had pushed back on Trump's threat to shut down the government unless he gets money for his proposed southern border wall.
Trump's tweets also shined a fresh light on the ill will and distrust fueling much of the Republican disunity that has left it without a major legislative accomplishment during Trump's seven-month tenure while controlling both chambers and the White House.
The president wrote that he suggested to Ryan and McConnell that they attach a measure addressing the country's borrowing limit to a just-passed veterans bill, which Trump said would have ensured "easy approval."
In a second tweet, Trump criticized the GOP leaders for not tying the debt ceiling to the veterans bill, saying their refusal means "now we have a big deal with Dems holding them up (as usual) on Debt Ceiling approval. Could have been so easy-now a mess!"
One senior GOP aide told Roll Call it was not clear whether the White House or GOP leadership on Capitol Hill first proposed the idea, which was eventually scuttled.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is pushing a "clean" debt ceiling increase, though some Republican lawmakers want to attach federal spending cuts. Democrats, who will be asked to supply the votes to push the measure across the finish line, are staunchly opposed to that idea.
(Niels Lesniewski and Lindsey McPherson contributed to this report.)
