WASHINGTON--U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday his public feud with Senator Bob Corker would not harm his push for a tax-code overhaul, hours after he aimed a new insult at the influential fellow Republican by mocking his physical stature.
In remarks that raised new uncertainties about the barely 2-week-old tax plan, Trump also told reporters that adjustments to it were coming within weeks. He did not give details.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said later: "We don't have any adjustments to make to the framework at this time."
Asked if his spat with Corker would affect the tax effort, Trump said: "I don't think so, no."
The president has engaged in a risky Twitter dispute over the past few days with Corker, a Tennessee lawmaker who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and is a leading "deficit hawk" committed to reining in the federal deficit. Corker has said he will oppose any package of tax changes that adds to the deficit.
His position matters because Republicans control the Senate by a narrow 52-to-48 margin as they push to notch their first major legislative achievement during a year in which they have controlled the White House and both chambers of Congress. If Democrats, who have criticized Trump's tax plan as a giveaway to business and the rich, unite against a tax bill as they did in opposing efforts to repeal the Obamacare healthcare law, Republicans can afford to lose only two of their own senators to get the tax changes passed.
In his latest tweet on the senator on Tuesday morning, Trump dubbed Corker, reported by U.S. media to be 5 foot 7 inches (1.70 m) tall, "Liddle' Bob Corker."
He said Corker had been made to "sound a fool" by the New York Times, "and that's what I'm dealing with."
Corker tweeted over the weekend that the Trump White House was an "adult daycare center" and said in an interview with the Times that Trump risked setting the country on a "path to World War Three."
Corker, who is not seeking re-election next year, has not responded on Twitter to Trump's latest comments.
