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. -- ON LOSING THE ALABAMA PRIMARY: Law said Luther Strange’s loss in Alabama, a race SLF spent nearly $5 million on, has a “silver lining.” “Every election cycle we try to sharpen our game and when you have two back-to-back successful cycles in 2014 and 2016 it’s easy to get lax,” Law said. But in the next few months, they face perhaps their most important stretch as they try to get tax reform through Congress. 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. “Nelson told the group that Democrats desperately needed to catch up on field staff in Florida, especially in the wake of the presidential and Senate race results last year that saw Republican-leaning voters flood the polls and took even plugged-in Democrats by surprise. ‘I’ve not met him.’ … ‘Where there’s room to work with him, I will. ... As the GOP appears to be on the verge of another civil war and reports of Bannon’s 2018 plans dominate headlines, the big question Republicans are still trying to figure out is: Beyond a photo op, what does Bannon’s support actually mean for [Michael] Grimm and several other candidates he is backing? … Patrick Rodenbush recently started as communications director for the National Democratic Redistricting Committee.
– 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."