Trump to bring Democratic senator with him to North Dakota
When President Trump travels to North Dakota Wednesday to talk about the need to overhaul the tax code, he'll be giving a Democrat, Sen. Heidi Heitcamp, a ride on Air Force One to her home state, along with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and top economic adviser Gary Cohn.
GOP Sen. John Hoeven and the lone congressman representing North Dakota, Rep. Kevin Cramer, will also be on board, according to the White House, but both of them are Republicans.
Heitkamp's presence on the trip could signal that the president is hoping to win some Democratic support for the White House tax plan, which has long been high on his agenda. Heitkamp, who's up for reelection in 2018, has said she'll support the president on issues she agrees with him on. Early in the administration, she was also said to have been considered for a Cabinet post.
Heitkamp is receiving much warmer treatment than colleague Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill, of Missouiri. Suggesting that she was an obstructionist, the president said at another speech on taxes, "We must lower our taxes and your senator, Claire McCaskill, she must do this for you, and if she doesn't, you have to vote her out of office."
The president will be speaking at the Andeavor Cooperation, formerly known as Tesoro Corporation. Andeavor owns 10 refineries and has a refining capacity of 1.2 billion barrels per day.
