10 things you need to know today: October 17, 2017

Trump and McConnell meet to end infighting, Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl pleads guilty to desertion, and more

President Trump and Mitch McConnell in the Rose Garden
(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

1. Trump and McConnell meet in bid to end feuding

President Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) met in a private lunch at the White House on Monday in a bid to end months of feuding. In a show of unity afterwards, Trump said, "The relationship is good. We're fighting for the same thing." He cited tax cuts as a shared priority. McConnell, whom Trump has criticized over failed GOP efforts to replace ObamaCare, said he and Trump speak frequently and "have the same agenda." Still, they showed signs of disagreement. Trump said he was working on a major economic plan although he had not shown it to Senate GOP leaders, and he said he had the votes lined up to repeal and replace ObamaCare next year, even though Republicans in Congress have not reached agreement on their next steps after failing to pass a health-care reform bill.

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Harold Maass, The Week US

Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.