FILE - In this Sept. 5, 2017, file photo, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., right, listens as President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Congressional leaders and administration... (Associated Press) 
 
 FILE - In this Sept. 5, 2017, file photo, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., right, listens as President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Congressional leaders and administration officials in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington. Trump and McConnell are scheduled... (Associated Press) 
 
 FILE - In this Sept. 5, 2017, file photo, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., right, listens as President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Congressional leaders and administration officials in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington. Trump and McConnell are scheduled... (Associated Press) FILE - In this Sept. 5, 2017, file photo, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., right, listens as President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Congressional leaders and administration... (Associated Press) 
 
 WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump blames the Senate's GOP leader for the health overhaul failure, hints at tantalizing deals with Democrats and watches his former strategist work to bulldoze the Republican establishment on Capitol Hill. 
 
 There's no need for air conditioning at the White House with that chill in the air when Trump, a public official since January, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, first elected to Congress in 1984, meet on Monday. 
 
 "Mitch McConnell's not our problem. Our problem is that we promised to repeal and replace Obamacare, and we failed. We promised to cut taxes and we have yet to do it," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a member of Congress since 1995. "If we're successful, Mitch McConnell's fine. If we're not, we're all in trouble. We lose our majority and I think President Trump will not get re-elected." 
 
 Steve Bannon, back at Breitbart News after helping Trump win the presidency and serving in the West Wing, is committed to dumping McConnell, R-Ky. In a speech to religious conservatives Saturday, Bannon put on notice some of those incumbents who are at risk of a challenge from his flank of the party. He said the lawmakers possibly can avoid that wrath if they disavow McConnell and meet other conditions. 
 
 "This is our war," Bannon said. "The establishment started it. ...You all are gonna finish it." 
 
 Sen. Susan Collins, a Maine moderate who just passed up a run for governor and was a pivotal "no" vote on health care, said Bannon's rhetoric is exactly what the American people are tired of. "They don't want this hyper-partisanship. They want us to work together. And they want us to get things done," she said. 
 
 Collins, who's served in the Senate since 1997, added that Bannon's "over-the-top rhetoric is not helpful. Mitch McConnell is the Senate majority leader. The president needs him. I'm glad they're working together on tax reform and a lot of other issues. And I'm glad they're meeting this week." 
 
 McConnell responded to Trump's Twitter barrage after the failed health care effort by saying that the challenges of governing should come as no surprise. 
 
 "A lot of people look at all that and find it frustrating, messy. Well, welcome to the democratic process. That's the way it is in our country," McConnell said at a GOP event in Kentucky this summer. 
 
 Trump, a former Democrat himself, cut a deal with Democratic leaders on raising the U.S. borrowing limit and keeping the government running into the winter. The president has also talked about future arrangements, though his recent list of immigration demands soured Democrats who had seen an earlier opening for legislative progress. 
 
 Hard-right conservatives frustrated by the stalled agenda in Congress wrote in a letter last week during the Senate's break that McConnell and his leadership team should step aside. The senators' weeklong recess also drew criticism from the White House: "They're on another vacation right now. I think that we would all be a lot better off if the Senate would stop taking vacations, and start staying here until we actually get some real things accomplished," Trump spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders had said. 
 
 Meanwhile, a McConnell-backed political committee spent millions to support Alabama Sen. Luther Strange and Trump endorsed him in a recent primary election, but Bannon-backed Roy Moore prevailed. Moore, a former judge, has defied federal court orders, described Islam as a false religion and called homosexuality evil. 
 
 Senate Republicans had been upbeat about adding to their 52-48 edge in the chamber, especially with Democrats defending more seats next year — 10 in states Trump won in last year's presidential election. But the Bannon challenge could cost them, leaving incumbents on the losing end in primaries or GOP candidates roughed up for the general election. 
 
 "If we don't cut taxes and we don't eventually repeal and replace Obamacare, then we're going to lose across the board in the House in 2018. And all of my colleagues running in primaries in 2018 will probably get beat. It will be the end of Mitch McConnell as we know it. So this is a symptom of a greater problem," Graham said. 
 
 He added that Bannon "can't beat us if we're successful. And if we're not successful, it doesn't matter who tries to beat us, they'll be successful." 
 
 Collins spoke on ABC's "This Week," and Graham appeared on CBS' "Face the Nation." ||||| On Thursday morning, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell sent his GOP members an email imploring them to stick together and assign blame to Democrats should funding lapse at midnight Friday. | Alex Wong/Getty Images McConnell plans for shutdown The Senate leader intends to keep his chamber in session and stage a series of votes designed to embarrass vulnerable Democrats. 
 
 Mitch McConnell is making contingency plans for the growing possibility of a government shutdown. 
 
 The Senate majority leader intends to keep the chamber in session through the weekend and stage a series of votes designed to put Democrats from conservative states on defense, according to two Republican sources familiar with his plans and an email sent by McConnell on Thursday and obtained by POLITICO. 
 
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 The goal would be to place the blame for a shutdown squarely on 10 Democratic senators up for reelection this fall in states won by Donald Trump in 2016, and make them the face of a government closure. 
 
 The strategy is risky for Republicans, considering that they control the White House and Congress. Should funding lapse at midnight Friday, McConnell would keep the Senate in session and try to force Democrats to repeatedly vote against funding for children’s health care money and government spending. 
 
 On Thursday morning, McConnell sent his GOP members an email imploring them to stick together and assign blame to Democrats. Several Republicans, including Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Mike Rounds of South Dakota have said they will oppose a House spending bill that could be voted on Thursday night. 
 
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 “We should all plan to stay through this weekend if Senate Democrats follow through and are willing to shut down the government and the Children’s Health Insurance Program because they have yet to conclude a deal on DACA. This is an irresponsible position to take as everything from pay for our military to processing social security checks will be affected. I hope not a single Republican is inclined to join them,” McConnell said in the email. 
 
 Liberal Democrats scoffed at the Republican strategy to blame their more moderate colleagues. 
 
 “Only In Washington when the Republicans control the House of Representatives, the United States Senate and the White House would they seek to blame Democrats,” said Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.). “You should be concerned less about the politics and more about getting the job done.” 
 
 Only West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin has said he will support the House’s short-term funding bill. The other Trump-state Democrats are not saying how they would vote. They're under pressure from liberal activists demanding that they vote against any bill that does not include protections for hundreds of thousands of young immigrants facing potential deportation. 
 
 Republicans have 51 votes in the Senate and are hoping to expand their majority this fall, when a host of moderate Democrats are up for reelection. 
 
 Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) signaled on Tuesday that he could vote no, blasting the House’s short-term bill as “a bad proposal,” while Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) also indicated she is undecided. Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) said he would not draw a “line in the sand” on funding. 
 
 “They will own this shutdown and we will take these votes over and over so they are on record. General polls [about] how [Republicans] suck do not matter. We are looking at the Trump states where we need pick up seats. And we will go after them aggressively,” said a senior Republican aide working on party strategy. 
 
 McConnell is likely to repeatedly call up the funding bill and make Democrats vote it down, provided the House passes its bill on Thursday. A spokeswoman for McConnell confirmed the Senate will stay in session in the event of the shutdown. 
 
 “If the Democrats choose to shut down the government, if that hypothetical situation happens, then yes of course the Senate will remain in session,” said Antonia Ferrier, a spokeswoman for McConnell. 
 
 A national Republican strategist said the GOP’s campaign arm is likely to use Democrats’ words opposing the 2013 shutdown against them. The aim will be to damage incumbent Democrats caught between voters in conservative states and liberal activists pushing those senators to block the funding bill. Campaign officials are planning to hammer Democrats for voting against a bill with funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program. 
 
 “You will also see something similar to the messaging [Democrats] used in 2013 on funding for troops, seniors and again children,” the strategist said. 
 
 Senate Democrats are laying their own plans to blame Trump and GOP leaders for a potential impasse, including an aggressive media campaign slamming Republicans. 
 
 “Senate Republicans have a herculean task ahead of them to blame anyone but the president for this shutdown,” said Matt House, a spokesman for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. “The American people will know exactly where to place the blame for the first-ever shutdown under total Republican control in Washington.” 
 
 Elana Schor contributed to this report.
– President Trump blames the Senate's GOP leader for the health overhaul's failure, hints at tantalizing deals with Democrats, and watches his former strategist work to bulldoze the Republican establishment on Capitol Hill. There's no need for air conditioning at the White House with that chill in the air when Trump, a public official since January, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, first elected to Congress in 1984, meet on Monday, per the AP. A McConnell spokesman says their lunch topic will focus on the fall agenda, per Politico. That includes "completing the budget resolution, passing tax reform to help American families and workers, confirming well-qualified judicial and other nominees, and continuing to provide resources to communities affected by the recent hurricanes.” But it comes amid serious tension. Steve Bannon, back at Breitbart News after helping Trump win the presidency and serving in the West Wing, reaffirmed his commitment to dumping McConnell in a speech to religious conservatives Saturday. "This is our war," Bannon said. "The establishment started it. ...You all are gonna finish it." Sen. Susan Collins, a Maine moderate who just passed up a run for governor and was a pivotal "no" vote on health care, said Bannon's rhetoric in favor of "hyper partisanship" is exactly what the American people are tired of. "Mitch McConnell is the Senate majority leader," she said. "The president needs him. I'm glad they're working together on tax reform and a lot of other issues. And I'm glad they're meeting this week."