Sen. Bob Corker told CNBC on Thursday his sharp criticism of President Donald Trump's fitness for office will "absolutely not" influence his vote on tax reform.
The Tennessee Republican described himself as "all in" on the GOP effort to overhaul the tax system, regardless of his feelings on the president's competence.
"This tax reform is our agenda, it's the Republican Senate agenda," Corker said in a "Squawk Box" interview. "It would be like somebody in your listening audience representing their company, sitting across the table from someone they may have a low regard for, but are they going do something that's going to damage their company because of that? Absolutely not."
The spat between Corker and Trump erupted anew on Tuesday, when Trump unleashed a blistering string of tweets following the senator's assertion that the White House should "step aside" and let Congress handle writing the tax bill. Later responding to Trump, Corker said the claims in the president's tweets were untrue. He said Trump "debases our country" and will not "rise to the occasion as president."
Corker's sharp comments about the president, plus his reservations about deficits generated by tax cuts, led to speculation that he might vote against a bill. The GOP can only afford to lose the votes of two its members in the Senate.
Corker said he still does not want the bill to add a penny to the deficit. He added that a proposal will not balloon the deficit "if we do it right."
The Tennessee Republican described himself as "all in" on the GOP effort to overhaul the tax system, regardless of his feelings on the president's competence.
"This tax reform is our agenda, it's the Republican Senate agenda," Corker said in a "Squawk Box" interview. "It would be like somebody in your listening audience representing their company, sitting across the table from someone they may have a low regard for, but are they going do something that's going to damage their company because of that? Absolutely not."
The spat between Corker and Trump erupted anew on Tuesday, when Trump unleashed a blistering string of tweets following the senator's assertion that the White House should "step aside" and let Congress handle writing the tax bill. Later responding to Trump, Corker said the claims in the president's tweets were untrue. He said Trump "debases our country" and will not "rise to the occasion as president."
Corker's sharp comments about the president, plus his reservations about deficits generated by tax cuts, led to speculation that he might vote against a bill. The GOP can only afford to lose the votes of two its members in the Senate.
Corker said he still does not want the bill to add a penny to the deficit. He added that a proposal will not balloon the deficit "if we do it right."