The hot mic strikes again. This time two senators — one a moderate Republican, Susan Collins (ME), the other a faithful Democrat, Jack Reed (RI) — were caught questioning not only President Trump’s understanding of how the government works, but his sanity.
The audio, posted by The Washington Free Beacon on Tuesday (below), features the two senators having a rather hushed conversation about the president.
The audio begins with Collins slamming the “irresponsible” budget process under Trump. Reed replies by saying that he suspects that Trump is in fact “crazy.” Collins, appearing to agree, responds, “I’m worried,” and then goes on to question if Trump is even aware that certain key procedures and laws exist.
“I swear, OMB [the Office of Management and Budget] just went through and whenever there was ‘grant,’ they just X it out. With no measurement, no thinking about it, no metrics, no nothing,” says Collins.
“No, nothing,” agrees Reed.
“It’s just incredibly irresponsible,” says Collins.
That’s when Reed turns the conversation to Trump’s mental health, an increasingly prominent theme among Democrats.
“Yes,” says Reed, adding softly, “I think — I think he’s crazy …”
“I’m worried,” Collins says, apparently agreeing.
“I mean, I don’t say that lightly and as ‘a kind of a goofy guy,'” Reed adds. “If we don’t get a budget deal, we’re going to be paralyzed …”
“I don’t think he knows there is a BCA [2011 Budget Control Act] or anything,” says Collins.
The conversation continues, with both senators describing in alarmed terms Trump’s handling of the budget.
One other notable moment occurs when Collins brings up Republican Rep. Blake Farenthold (TX) joking Monday that he wishes he could challenge the Republican senators voting “no” on a clean repeal of Obamacare to a duel. Reed says Farenthold just wants a duel because “you could beat the s*** out of him.” Collins responds by slamming Farenthoold as “huge” and “so unattractive.”
Hot mic audio below via The Washington Free Beacon:
Along with Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski, Collins was one of only two Republican “no” votes to allowing the Obamacare repeal and replacement effort to move forward in the Senate on Tuesday. Reed, who voted “no” along with his 47 Democratic colleagues, made sure to praise his friend and her fellow GOP dissenter in a statement issued after the vote.
“The Affordable Care Act enshrined basic health care security, portability, and consumer protections for all Americans,” said Reed. “Yet, Republicans, with the two brave exceptions of Senators Collins and Murkowski, voted today to move forward with their repeal efforts with no plan as to what bill they will vote on later this week. What we do know is that every version of Trumpcare that we have seen so far would strip away the gains of the ACA, deny people access to affordable health coverage, increase costs, and destabilize insurance markets.”
In other words, Reed, unlike Collins, is toeing the party line. Meanwhile, with the help of Vice President Mike Pence as the tie-break vote, the Senate’s Obamacare repeal and replace effort has begun in earnest.