Thune-Trump tensions escalate as clock ticks on megabill 3.0

Senate Majority Leader John Thune repeated to White House officials in private what he's been saying in public for weeks: We don't have the votes.

Why it matters: President Trump isn't buying it — and he's questioning whether Thune is the man for the job.

"Well, we're gonna find out," Trump said Wednesday. "I'll let you know."

Asked Wednesday evening about Trump saying the votes were gettable, Thune (R-S.D.) told reporters, "That must be a different form of math."

Driving the news: Hours earlier, two of Trump's top aides met with Senate Republicans at their weekly lunch to press them to pass a three-part budget reconciliation bill before leaving town, Axios scooped earlier Wednesday.

The goal is to move a House budget resolution to "pay our troops, help our farms and secure our elections," a White House official told Axios.

The White House is also floating a separate reconciliation package (a fourth) to raise the debt ceiling during the lame-duck session.

What we're hearing: Many of Thune's members simply don't want to endure another vote-a-rama, the marathon amendment process that comes with every reconciliation bill.

The White House wants Thune to expand the number of committees that receive reconciliation instructions.

Many in Thune's conference want to expand the bill in a different direction — and plus-up the $67 billion in defense spending that cleared the House.

"There's clearly an interest among certain members of our conference for a higher level of military and defense," Thune said Wednesday.

The intrigue: During the meeting, Republicans pointed out that the election-law changes envisioned in the House version of the SAVE Act — including more money for states to enforce voter ID and proof-of-citizenship requirements — wouldn't take effect in time to affect this November's elections.

Zoom out: The public clash comes at an awkward moment for Republicans: Fourteen weeks before the midterms, the White House and Senate GOP leadership are openly sparring over the president's agenda instead of selling it.

Trump is trying to increase pressure on Thune, but the majority leader still enjoys broad support within his conference.

Thune, when asked about Trump questioning whether he's the best person for the job, told reporters Wednesday: "Well, that's nice of him. I guess. I don't know, what do you say on that? That's a decision that's made by my colleagues."

Even as the two are at odds over reconciliation, Thune is planning to fly to Dallas to join Trump at the president's midterm political convention in September. ...