South Carolina Rep. Mark Sanford says President Trump threatened to back a GOP primary challenger against him in his 2018 re-election campaign.
In an interview published by the Post and Courier on Thursday, the Republican lawmaker said the president sent Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney last week to deliver a message on what would happen should he vote against the House GOP’s healthcare bill.
“‘The president asked me to look you square in the eyes and to say that he hoped that you voted ‘no’ on this bill so he could run (a primary challenger) against you in 2018,'” Sanford said Mulvaney told him.
Sanford added that Mulvaney, a former fellow congressman from South Carolina, did not want to deliver the message, but did so at the behest of his boss.
The bill in question, the American Health Care Act, never made it to a vote. It was pulled because it was deemed that it would not get enough support to pass, particularly due to opposition from the conservative House Freedom Caucus of which Sanford is a member.
Trump took to Twitter on Thursday to fire a warning shot against the HFC.
“The Freedom Caucus will hurt the entire Republican agenda if they don’t get on the team, & fast. We must fight them, & Dems, in 2018!”, Trump said.
