Bob Corker

Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN), who once described the White House as an “adult day-care center,” lamented that President Trump governs in a state of “constant chaos” and denounced his attacks on federal law enforcement agencies, the media and other U.S. institutions, the Washington Post reports.

Said Corker: “You know, for the chief of staff it’s got to be a nightmare that at night there are people calling in from all over the country, he’s calling them, and the chief of staff doesn’t know they’re calling.”

He also blasted the “grotesque” spending bill signed by Trump: “This president, obviously, is not a president who’s interested in fiscal issues. Is this president a president who cares about the fiscal health of our nation? No. No.”

Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) lamented that his recent vote for the GOP tax bill could be one of the worst of his career if projections that it will add nearly $2 trillion to the deficit prove to be accurate, the Tennessean reports.

Said Corker: “None of us have covered ourselves in glory. This Congress and this administration likely will go down as one of the most fiscally irresponsible administrations and Congresses that we’ve had.”

He also said that the recent spending bill was it “one of the most grotesque pieces of legislation I can remember.”

Politico: “Days before his surprise announcement that he would support the GOP tax bill, Sen. Bob Corker had been summoning administration officials and economists to his office to see whether he could ultimately get on board with the plan. One was Douglas Holtz-Eakin, the former Congressional Budget Office director and adviser to GOP presidential campaigns who painstakingly went through varying analyses of the tax measure as Corker — accompanied by at least a half-dozen aides and stacks of spreadsheets — drilled him with questions.”

“The mystery over Corker’s flip quickly swirled into a political firestorm over suggestions that the senator decided to support the tax measure only after winning a provision that could personally enrich him. Liberal activists and lawmakers declared it the ‘Corker Kickback,’ in a last-ditch bid to derail the bill — or at least further tarnish Republicans’ big tax win this week.”

“I had like a two-page summary I went through with leadership. I never saw the actual text.”

— Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN), in an interview with the International Business Times, denying knowing about a controversial last-minute provision slipped into the Republican tax bill that could personally enrich him.

Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) said that he will support the GOP tax plan, saying the legislation represents a “once-in-a-generation opportunity,” The Hill reports.

Said Corker: “I know every bill we consider is imperfect and the question becomes is our country better off with or without this piece of legislation. I think we are better off with it. I realize this is a bet on our country’s enterprising spirit, and that is a bet I am willing to make.”

Axios: “Corker’s vote essentially cements the tax bill’s passage before the Christmas deadline.”

Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) said that “he could oppose his party’s tax bill over deficit concerns in an expected Senate Budget Committee vote this week, but added that Republicans were working to resolve his concerns,” Reuters reports.

Said Corker: “I’m not threatening anything. I’m just saying it’s very important for me to know that we’ve got this resolved.”

Asked if he could vote “no” on the tax bill at a committee hearing slated for Tuesday, he replied: “Very possible. Yeah. Sure.”